Black, White, and Nothing In-between
by StormKhaleesi
Summary: Tala is finally free thanks to the angel Sofiel. She struggles with her dark past and a hidden power as she try's to help the Winchester's prevent Lucifer from rising. However, when her big secret is exposed, stopping the apocalypse becomes nearly impossible. Set in Season four.
1. Prologue

~September 1989~

"Danny, wait up!" I cried hurrying to keep up with my older brother. He was walking along the trail and my short legs couldn't keep up with his fast pace. When he heard me call for him, he slowed down and turned, giving me a bright smile. He was only two and half years older than me, even though he was a big know it all. With his dark skin, black hair, brown eyes, and round face he took after my father. I didn't take after one parent in particular. I had tan skin, paler than my brothers, and black hair. My eyes were green like my mothers. I returned Danny's smile and ran up to walk next to him. Hiking through the mountains in North Carolina was our favorite thing to do. I was almost five, and I loved being outdoors and exploring. We weren't allowed to go out on our own yet. My mom always insisted that our father come with. My father was Native American, a Cherokee. We lived on the reservation in North Carolina. My mother was Irish. It was an interesting combination, but I loved it.

"Stick together you two!" My dad's voice echoed off the mountains as he came walking out of the woods. My dad was tall and strong. He had taught us from the beginning to respect and love nature and all it has to offer. And he loved telling stories. My favorite was the tale of the two wolves and I pestered him almost every night to tell it to me.

"Come on Tala, let's go see if we can find any deer or coyote's!" Danny said grabbing my hand. I looked over at my dad. He glanced in our direction and nodded, silently giving us his permission. Danny and I ran forward to the small grove where we would sit and watch for wild animals. I lay down on the ground and peeked over one of the tree roots. I glanced around at my surroundings. Large rolling hills stretched in every direction. It was September and the leaves were changing colors. Yellow, orange, red, and even some purple leaves were on every tree. The sun shone weakly overhead, providing a little warmth from the cold ground. The sun dappled on the ground and added to the beauty of the whole scene.

Then I saw them. Two coyotes stepped out of the woods not to far from us. Danny and I exchanged an excited glance. We had never actually seen coyotes before, just deer, small mammals, and one fox. I had never seen anything so amazing. We had a dog back on the reservation but seeing the coyotes in the wild was amazing. And then I felt it. A shiver, or a ripple, ran through my skin. Everything became sharper and I felt different. I heard Danny let out a gasp of shock.

"What's wrong?" I asked? But it didn't come out that way. It came out as a bark. My brother scrambled to his feet his eyes huge, why did he look so tall? It took me a moment to realize that I was standing on all fours. I looked down and noticed that I had paws not feet. I screamed and it came out as a yelp.

"Dad, come quickly! Dad!" Danny was running back the way we had come. I stumbled after him, trying to get the hang of moving on all fours. What was I? A dog, a fox, or maybe a coyote? All I knew was that I wasn't human. I finally got moving and I quickly caught up to my brother. Whatever was happening, I was starting to enjoy it. Running on all fours was so much quicker than moving as a human. I skidded to a halt in front of my dad. To my surprise, he didn't look horrified like Danny did. Instead he just chuckled and knelt down.

"It's all right Danny," he said smiling down at me, "I knew one of you would inherit it."

"Inherit what?" I asked, but it came out as a whimper.

"I can't understand you Tala," he said, he looked like he was trying not to laugh, "Just remember who you are all right? You're a person, but you're also a wolf. You will have to learn to control it, and I know you can." He paused for a moment and looked at me. I wondered what I looked like? Was I a pretty wolf? Or was I all mangy looking? I've never seen a wolf before. My father always mentioned tht they were like large powerful coyotes. My dad laughed again and shook his head in amazement. "You're quite the cute pup aren't you? I need you to come back now Tala. All you have to do is close your eyes and think about being a person again. You can do it."

I shut my eyes tight and thought about what I looked like. I thought about my family, my father and mother, Danny, and my baby sister Bree. A second later I felt that shiver run through me again. I knew without even looking that I was back. "What just happened?" I said. I was confused but I was also happy. I was a wolf! "_Could I do it again?"_ I wondered.

Danny was still looking at me as if he didn't understand what was going on. He seemed to be recovering from the initial shock. "You are like me Tala. You have the ability to transform yourself into an animal at will, in your case, a wolf. You're called a skinwalker." I froze I knew what skinwalkers were! He had told me about them in his stories. Some were evil and some were good. "You are going to learn to control it but you must not tell anyone." He said softly. "Do you understand?"

"Yes father!" I said happily. Danny still looked scared but he stepped forward and hugged me. I knew I could always count on him. He was my big brother and he would always care for me.

"Don't worry Tala," he said softly, "I still love you, you just scared me!" he still looked a little shaken up by the quick ordeal. He stepped back and looked at me as if he'd never seen me before. He looked worried.

"I bet I can outrun you now!" I said bouncing on the balls of my feet. Danny forced a smile but I could tell he was still uncomfortable. Maybe I should be more worried but I was too excited. What I had just done was the most amazing thing, I couldn't see how it was a bad thing.

My father came over and kissed me on the forehead. "Let's go back now, we have a lot to talk about." I followed him as we walked home to the reservation. Danny walked ahead, casting a glance back at me to make sure I was following. It wouldn't be the first time I had run off in the woods alone. I didn't want to run back into the woods this time, I was too excited to share my discovery with the rest of the family. Before I left the woods, I turned around and glanced at the mountains, the falling leaves and the trees. I was going to be part of something great. And I was stronger then I thought I would ever be. I took a deep breath, breathing in the smell of the mountains and the forests. Everything seemed so much brighter; my senses seemed so much sharper. Even though I was nervous, I had never been more excited. I had a unique and special power. My dad was going to teach me how to control it. And one day I was going to make a difference in the world. I took one more deep breath before turning back to my father. Together we went home to tell my mother the news.

_**Just some information for everyone! This is my first fanfic so please give me critiques on what you think I can do better! I'm going to try to upload at least one chapter a week, and chapter one should be up tonight or tomorrow. Another quick note, there will be a lot of flashbacks in this story and I'm planning on making the flashbacks in all italics and probably throwing them in as a separate chapter. If anybody has any preferences on the best way to do flashbacks, I'm here to listen! Thank you for reading and I hope you like it. **_


	2. Free

_**Hey everyone thanks for the reviews on the prologue! Sorry this chapter took so long for me to get up, I've been a little busy. The dates on the top of the page will only be there for flashbacks from now on, this is the "modern day"/time setting for this fic. As I mentioned before, there will be quite a few flashbacks and I'm going to do my best to make the timeline/storyline flow with the flashbacks and the time that everything happens. This is set in season four and it will be from Tala's point of view. Oh and Tala is pronounced like Kayla but with a T, so Tayla. I have a lot of ideas and I'm going to be taking it chapter by chapter, so I'm 100% open to critiques, ideas, questions, opinions, concerns, you name it! Now without more delay, here is chapter one. **_

~September 21, 2008~

This had to be some sort of cruel joke. Or maybe it was a dream. It couldn't be reality. My mind refused to accept that. After 365 years, not days, I had completely given up all hope. There was just no way I could be free. It just didn't seem possible that all the pain, all the torture, all the horror, was finally over. I always wondered which was stronger, fear or hope. All my life, I had held onto the belief that hope will always be stronger than fear. But I was wrong. 365 years in hell had changed my mind. I had desperately tried to hold on but everyone has a breaking point. It was all I could do to say no to Alastair at the end of everyday. After so many years, he eventually stopped offering. And I had eventually lost all hope that somebody would save me. Maybe this was some sort of hallucination; I just couldn't allow myself to hope. Not after all I had been through.

"You could get in big trouble for this." I heard a male's voice say. I sat up, instantly trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from. I quickly took in my surroundings. I was in a simple log cabin. It was dusty and rundown, as if it hadn't been used in a long time. My eyes swept along the floor of the small room. I was in a small bedroom. The place looked familiar but I wasn't sure why. I ran my hand along the woven blanket of the bed, examining the blue and back threads. The voices outside were the last thing on my mind right now. I knew why this place was so familiar. I glanced at the dresser beside the bed. My special homemade silver stag knife was lying on the dresser. I grabbed it, glad to have the comfort of my chosen weapon in my hand. This was the place where I grew up it had to be. I was almost nervous to look at the decorations on the walls, for fear I was wrong. Nevertheless, I glanced over to my left and sure enough, there was a painting of a wolf on the wall. I was home.

"-Couldn't just leave her down there!" this time it was a female voice, "She didn't deserve it." I was pretty certain that they were talking about me. I swung my feet over the side of the bed and stood up, making sure my knife was still gripped firmly in my hand. It was strange standing up. I rolled my shoulders back and took a deep breath. My mind was screaming at me, telling me it was nothing but a trick. My heart on the other hand was telling me to hope, and so I allowed myself to believe. I took a few steps towards the door and stopped just shy of opening it. What if this was a dream? What if I opened the door and I woke up, back in hell? But this was different. When I dreamed in hell it was never this vivid.I was still scared though. I f this was a dream, I didn't want it to end. I summoned all my courage and pushed open the door.

Naturally, I was just in another room. I should have remembered the setup of my own house. I didn't have time to explore my home. I had to figure out what was going on. I strode more confidently across the room, tucking my knife against my side. Dreams were weird, but I was growing more and more certain that this was no dream. Usually, in a dream, there's a barrier or a door. When you walk through, you wake up. At least, that's how it had always been for me. But I had gone through a door and into another room. I didn't wake up! I smiled for the first time in over 200 years.

I pushed open the door and took in the view. I was finally seeing the sky again. It was dusk, and the sun was setting behind the mountains. The leaves looked like they were just starting to change color, green and yellow leaves on the same tree. But everything looked the same. Our house had been right at the foothills of the mountains, on the edge of the reservation. It was nearly a mile long walk to get to the main village. We had several acres of pasture surrounding our house where our horses would roam. Usually we would ride the horses into the village. I could see the old barn now, along with the cabin where my grandparents lived.

"You should be resting." A soft voice interrupted my thoughts. I jumped and turned around. A woman was standing behind me. She was pale, with long blonde hair shaped around her face. She had blue eyes and was a few inches taller than me. The man standing behind her stepped back as if he was uncomfortable. He looked familiar.

"Have I met you before?" I asked.

"Yes, I helped you and your sister once." He replied. He still looked awkward, as if he didn't want to be anywhere near me.

"Castiel?" I remembered now, he had saved Bree's life when Lilith had attacked her. I had been too far away to help and he had showed up and saved her. Lilith had fled for her life once I came back. i had also seen him once when I was down in hell. I thought he had come to help me but he just left me there. "What's going on?"

He looked away, avoiding any eye contact with me. His expression was almost impossible to read. Maybe shame, or concern, or worry?" I should go." He said flatly, and a second later he was gone. The woman turned and smiled at me. She looked stressed. Her and Cas had obviously been fighting about something. I wanted to ask but I had more important questions on my mind.

She stepped forward and held out her hand. I shook it and raised my eyebrows at her, silently inviting her to speak "My name is Sofiel. I am an angel, like Castiel." She said softly. "I'm sorry it took us this long to come for you. We didn't have much choice. We had to get Dean first. I wasn't supposed to come back for you, but I couldn't leave you down there. You deserve a second chance at life." It took a moment for that to sink in. Those words, rescue, second chance, _life_. It all was true.

"I'm, I'm free?" I could barely get the words out. Sofiel nodded, her eyes searching mine for some sign of emotion. Then, all at once, it hit me. I had gotten out. And I was never going back. Tears of joy instantly sprung into my eyes. I covered my mouth with my hands, caught in-between laughing and crying. I was alive and free! "Thank you!" I cried. I wiped the tears from my eyes, "Thank you so much." I choked out. I wanted to rush forward and embrace her, but I figured it wouldn't be the smartest move. She was an angel after all. I knew how powerful they were.

"There is no need to thank me, I should have come sooner." She said. Her smile had disappeared now, to be replaced by narrowed eyes and a deep frown. I shook my head at her. She had come for me and that was all that mattered. "I need to go now. You should go see your family." She gave me one more searching look and then she was gone. Just like Cas.

I hesitated. I wanted to call her back. I had to explain to her that it wasn't her fault she was just being obedient. She had no reason to feel guilty. She had saved me; surely she understood that I could never be angry with her for not coming sooner. I took a deep breath and turned back towards my grandparent's house. It was getting late and the sun was almost behind the hills. I started to walk towards their house. But I couldn't wait much longer. I started running as fast as I could to see my family.

My grandparent's home was smaller than mine. It was a simple log cabin that lacked rooms. They had a large fire pit right outside it. I remember when I was young I would sit in front of it with my brother and sister and listen to their stories. Many times, my dad would act out the stories as my grandparent's told them. My mother would come with us, but she normally didn't join in with us. She always said she felt out of place with all the Cherokee traditions we participated in. When Bree and Danny started to get older, they also started to feel out of place on the reservation. I was the only one who really felt a sense of belonging in the mountains.

I heard a door open over by the barn. _Of course_, I thought. _They must be putting the horses away. _ My grandmother's name was Lulu, but we always called her Leesi. U Li Si meant grandmother in the Cherokee language, and we had shortened it slightly. My Grandfather's name was Micco, and that was what we called him. Micco and Leesi, my grandparent's. When I was three years old, they surprised me with a gift. A beautiful blue roan warmblood. She had been just a yearling when my grandparent's had given her to me. I named her Eclipse. My grandparent's had always been there for me, they were the first to comfort me when my father died and they continued to support me even after my mother died. My father had told them about my abilities as a skinwalker, and even then, they still loved me. they both found it amazing how powerful I was and they were always glad to help me when it came to controlling my abilities. When I had left for the last time, they had cried and hugged me and held onto me for so long. They both prayed for me to return safely, to get out of my deal. I could only imagine how horrible it must have been for them when I didn't come back.

And there she was. Leesi was closing the door on the barn. She looked the same as she had when I left. Her dark brown hair in two braids, a simple dress, and her very round face. She turned around towards me and froze in shock. "O Si Yo Leesi" I said gently, beaming at her. Her immediate shock didn't last very long. She instantly dropped the bucket that she was carrying and walked towards me as fast as she could. She stopped a foot in front of me, blinking tears out of her eyes. Reaching out, she put one hand on my face, as if making sure I was real. She let out a small laugh and then grabbed me and hugged me close to her. I hugged her back. "I'm home," I whispered, "It's really me."

"Lulu, you left the door unlo-" he broke off suddenly when he saw me. I glanced up from hugging Leesi and looked at Micco. He looked so much older, as if he had aged ten years since I had been gone. For all I knew, I had been gone for ten years. I was in hell for 365 years; I had no idea how much faster time moved down there. Micco continued to stare at me, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. I couldn't even believe it myself, "You're alive?" he stammered out. His eyes were still wide in shock. I stepped back from Leesi and she grabbed my hand. I could tell she was too choked up to say anything. I nodded at Micco. This time he didn't hesitate he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. He gently kissed my head and then held me close to him. I lay my head on his shoulder. We hugged for what seemed like a lifetime. And I was okay with that. I had finally come home and I couldn't be happier. And for a brief moment, I was the luckiest girl alive. We finally broke apart and my grandfather placed his hands on my shoulders, still smiling that familiar smile of his, "Come inside Tala, I feel you have quite the story for us," he said, "Welcome home granddaughter."

I followed them inside and Leesi instantly brought me water and some snacks. I didn't know how much to tell them. I wasn't going to tell them about hell…I couldn't bring myself to talk about it. I was more interested in hearing what I missed, and more importantly, how much time I had missed.

"You've been gone for just over three years dear," Leesi said as if she could read my mind. She picked the newspaper up off the table and passed it to me.

"September 21, 2008?" I could hear the shock in my voice. I quickly did the math. "So each month was like ten years then," I muttered.

"How long were you down there for Tala? I've heard stories… how time passes differently, I hope you weren't down there for longer than three years," Micco sounded upset. I wonder how hard it must have been for him to imagine what was happening to me. I didn't want to break his heart, but I had never lied to my grandparents. I loved them to much to lie to them.

"Time passes differently," I sad slowly, "I'm sorry but I can't tell you everything, I can't bring myself to. It's still too fresh on my mind and I've only been out for a few hours. I don't think I'll ever recover from it either." I paused for a moment. Both my grandparents looked sad and hurt, I knew they just wanted to help. But just them being here for me, that helped more than anything, "I was down there for 365 years." I said quickly. Micco put his face in his hands and took a few deep breaths. Leesi let out a soft gasp and grabbed my hand tightly. "Please guys don't feel sorry for me. I made my choice, and being here with you is helping me more than you know. I love you two so much, and I missed you and being home with you has brought me so much joy already." I could tell they wanted to sit with me for a long time and talk to me and try to make me feel better. "Where are Danny and Bree?" I asked, trying my hardest to distract them from my story.

"They are both at college," Micco said, "Danny is at medical school and Bree is finishing up her undergraduate studies in international business."

"That's wonderful!" I grinned at them, trying to let them know that they were helping me. I wanted to ask more about my siblings but at the same time, I wanted to hear it from them. They were going to be so happy when they figured out that I was alive. I was tempted to call them, but this was face-to-face news. A lot must have happened in the three years that I was gone, but I was most concerned about those that I loved. For the moment being, I didn't really care about the news of the world I just wanted to know that everyone who I cared for was still alive and well. "And what about Eclipse? Is she still here?" I bit my lip, anxiously awaiting their answer. My horse meant a lot to me. I had grown up with her I could ride a horse before I could walk. I had worked with Leesi to train Eclipse by myself. We had grown up together. Saying goodbye to her before I left to try to break my deal was almost as hard as saying goodbye to my family.

They both exchanged a glance and my heart sank. She couldn't be gone. I couldn't deal with more heartbreak. I just wanted some happiness in my life now that I was out. It had only been three years, and she should still be alive and well. I braced myself for the worst. Then Leesi smiled brightly and tossed me the keys to the barn. I caught them and looked back and forth at them. "She is alive and well!" Micco said brightly. "Why don't you go for a ride and take your mind off things?" I jumped up and ran to the door. But then I skidded to a halt and glanced back at them. "Go!" Micco laughed, "You deserve it. Go open your mind and have fun. We'll still be here when you get back, I promise." I returned his grin and opened the door to go see my best friend.

I sprinted as fast as I could to the barn. It was amazing to be able to run again. I was finally in control. It was amazing how I was getting over hell this fast. I had only been out for a few hours and I could already feel the world healing me. I had always been an optimist. I always saw the positive in every situation that I was thrust into. I always had something to hold onto. I had briefly lost hold of that. But now, now that I was free, I was hopeful again. I would get to see my family, or what was left of my family, again. I didn't belong in hell and I knew that. Bad things sometimes happen to good people. I understood that. I wasn't perfect but I don't think I deserved what I had gone through. Yet here I was, with a second chance at life.

I unlocked the door and walked into the barn. The entrance was actually more of an office. The papers and documents, including food reports and name and age of our various horses, lined the walls. On the left was the tack room, including riding boots and helmets. I slid inside and pulled on my boots. They still looked like they were in perfect condition. My grandparents must have taken care of them, and the rest of my riding gear. _Did they know that I was going to come back? _I also grabbed a blanket and bridal off the wall. I pushed open the simple double doors, which led to the stables.

The barn was exactly how I remembered. It was a small barn, with room for about 15 horses. We only had seven. There used to be one for each of us. Eclipse was in the second to last stall on the left. I could see her now, her black face poking out. I forced myself not to run to her. My heart was pounding so hard and I blinked back tears. I heard her let out a soft whinny, as if she was welcoming me home. Finally, I couldn't help myself. I ran straight towards her. As I reached her I held out a hand and stroked her soft nose. Then I didn't hesitate. I threw my arms around her neck and held her close to me. she pushed her nose into her back as if she was hugging me in return. We stood there for a moment, happy to be reunited.

I finally broke apart and slid open the door. She didn't wait for me to walk into the stall. Instead, she pushed her way out and nudged me with her nose. Laughing I gave her a quick look over. She had just been groomed; Leesi or Micco had probably brushed them before putting them away for the night. I quickly checked her hooves and they were also clean.

"You ready to go for a ride?" I whispered combing my fingers through her black mane. Her coat was a mixed grey and black with black stockings and a black face. She had a small white star on her black face as well. She nickered in response to my question and I kissed her on the cheek before putting the blanket on her back. I was going to ride bareback. I removed her halter and put on her bridal. She stood perfectly still, like the perfect horse she was. 

I led her out of the barn, making sure to close the door behind me. The sun had disappeared over the edge and the moon was rising. Smiling I looked up at the stars and took it all in. the sky, the grass, the trees, the mountains, I remember when I used to take it all for granted. Now I savored every moment. I walked her out of the pasture, not even holding the reigns. I trusted her enough to stay beside me. I shut the pasture gate behind me and Eclipse nudged me impatiently, as if she was eager to get the ride started.

I jumped up on her back and looked around, trying to figure out where I wanted to go. There were many trails through the mountains. My favorite one went by the waterfall. But I wanted to go somewhere more private. I leaned forward and clicked in her ear. Eclipse took off at a gallop. I laughed with joy as we galloped through the trees towards the trail. Riding was just how I remembered it. there was no better way to celebrate my freedom than to ride through the mountains in the cold autumn air with the stars shining overhead.

As soon as we got on the trail, I slowed Eclipse down to a trot so I could enjoy the view. I had nicknamed the trail Cliff's Edge. It went straight up into the mountains. Once it got up near the top of one of the hills, it veered along the edge of the mountain. At the very top there was a clearing with a gorgeous view of a stream. When I was younger, bree and I would ride to the clearing and have a picnic there. When I rode with Danny, we usually chose the shorter trail. We liked to race. There were so many trails that ran through the mountains, and my grandparents and my parents had helped make many of them.

I slowed her down to a walk once we got to the top of the hill. With the trees surrounding me on all sides, it was nearly pitch black outside. But Eclipse and I both knew this trail well. We were in no danger here. I leaned forward and stroked her neck; glad to be home where I belonged. She bobbed her head up and down like she had done since she was a yearling. It was one of the many small characteristics that made me love her even more. I hopped off her back so I could walk next to her. As we continued up the trail together, she kept turning and placing her head on my shoulder. I wonder if she missed me as much as I missed her. Whenever I stopped, she stopped. Whenever I walked faster, so did she. I was blessed to own a horse like her.

I knew we were getting close to the turn around of the trail. I found a fallen tree and used to help me get back on her back. I didn't even have to ask her this time. She started galloping towards the clearing. I dropped the reigns and held onto her mane, trying to be one with her. And there was the clearing. She stopped and reared up as we got there, before pawing at the ground, reveling in her own power. I looked out over the dark mountains and the trees. I felt powerful and alive. For a minute, I just buried my face in Eclipse's mane. She twisted her head around and nuzzled my leg. When I glanced up again, everything was blurry. I didn't realize I had been crying with joy. I put my right hand in a fist and looked up at the stars. Without hesitating, I held my fist up to the sky. Eclipse looked up too and pawed the ground, celebrating with me. together we celebrated my freedom.


	3. Hope

I slammed the trunk on my car. It was a beautiful car that used to be my brother's before he bought a new one. He wanted a larger, more modern car, but I was perfectly happy taking over his 1973 Dodge Challenger. It used to be red, but when I inherited it, I had painted it black. Black fit me better.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Leesi asked. She was standing over to the side of the car and her arms were crossed over her chest. I knew she wasn't too happy over my decision. I had spent two days at home, spending time with them, but I needed to get back into hunting. Earlier in the day, I had come across an article online about a mysterious death in Wisconsin. It was perfect. I could stop and see Bree and Dan along the way. Dan was in Illinois, attending Northwestern University. Bree was even closer; she was in state at UNC Charlotte. They still had no idea that I was alive and well.

I knew that I had to get back into hunting right away. It was the only life I knew, and it was the only thing I was good at. No matter how hard I tried to be normal, it never worked. I was a hunter at heart, and I had accepted that a long time ago. After I had been raised from hell, I almost immediately started searching for a case. I read many weird ones before the Wisconsin death came up. A successful young man had been found dead in his house. His wrists were slit, but there was no sign of a razor or knife anywhere in the house. The doors were all locked and there was no sign of a forced entry. Most of the police in the area are thinking suicide, but they are considering foul play. I read and almost immediately thought it would be a simple spirit case, and a good way to get back into hunting.

I set the keys on the trunk and flashed a smile over at Leesi. "Don't worry, I'll be fine!" I said. I didn't even have to try to be confident, it was a spirit case. They were so easy to take care of.

"She'll be fine." Meeko said walking up and hugging me. Then he placed a phone in my hands. "Take this with you, give us a call when you're on your way back. Leesi's number is in there, and Dan's number is in there as well. Oh, and so is Bree's. I don't have any hunter contacts but I'm sure you know most of those by heart. We just need a way to keep in touch with you." I took the phone grinning at him, promising that I would do as he asked. Then I hugged Leesi as well.

"I should get to Montana tomorrow afternoon," I said. "I'm gonna stop by Bree's university and catch up with her, and hopefully stop at Dan's place tonight and talk to him as well."

I jumped in the car, pulling the door shut behind me. It was then that I realized how excited I was. I was ready to go. And I would get to see Bree and Dan soon. I waved goodbye to my grandparents as I drove down the gravel road and out of the reservation. I turned on the radio to my favorite rock station. I needed to burn some new CD's for my car as soon as I could.

It was about fifteen hours to Wisconsin, not a far drive at all. There was a reason why I was leaving early in the morning. I was hoping to stay the night with Dan in Illinois and finish the drive the following day.

A little over an hour later, I pulled up to the University and followed the road that led to the on-campus apartments. Leesi had given me the address and apartment number to Bree's apartment. I pulled into the closest parking space and walked up to the door. I couldn't help but feel nervous. For a minute, I considered going to my car and grabbing some holy water to prove that I wasn't a demon. But Bree wasn't that kind of person. She wasn't going to be careful. She would hopefully just be happy to see me.

I bit my lip and clenched my hand in a fist. How was she going to react? I couldn't wait though; I had to see her, to let her know that I was back. I raised my fist to the door and knocked, once, twice, three times. I let my hands fall back to my side. My heart was racing. I heard the door unlock. And then it swung open. For a moment I was shocked. It was like looking at my mom. I saw my shock reflected in her eyes and she let out a gasp.

She stepped back in shock and I took that as an invitation to come inside. I walked in and sat down on her couch smiling up at her. "Hey Bree." I said smiling. She closed the door and looked at me. I could see how shocked and confused she was. And under all that, she was hurt.

* * *

It was September 6, 2005. I glanced up on the clock on the wall. It was already 5:00. There was only seven hours until midnight, and I still had to see Dan before I left. I was pushing it on time, but I really didn't care. This was important.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Bree looked at me for a long moment and then glimpsed down at the bag at my feet. We were sitting on the couch together. I had just finished explaining my plan to her, and I could tell she wasn't convinced.

"They are definitely Lilith's bones… So I will make a fair trade, her bones for my soul, or I burn her bones. Either way, I'm free." I put as much confidence into my voice as I could.

"Right, how could this possibly go wrong?" Bree's voice was dripping with sarcasm, something that she had learned from me. I let out a small laugh and we stood up together. I had to get going. I would have loved to stay for a few hours but I just couldn't. I was truly running out of time.

"I need to go." I said, picking up the bag with Lilith's bones, "I should be home around two or three if everything works out."

Bree grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug, she sniffed, and I could tell she was trying not to cry "Call me after midnight, to let me know you're okay." She said in my ear. I nodded and gave her another grin, before walking out the door. Before I closed it behind me, I turned and waved goodbye.

"Be back soon!" I called. She waved back. I saw her wipe a tear from her eye. But she tried to keep a brave smile for me, and I was doing the same thing. As soon as the door closed behind me, the smile disappeared off my face, "Goodbye Bree. I love you." I whispered.

* * *

"You know I called you?" she looked at me, as if I couldn't believe I was here in front of her. "I called you over and over again. I kept thinking that maybe you lost your phone, or it was on silent. But as the minutes ticked by, and then an hour, and then two hours, I knew something was wrong. I called Dan, but he said that he hadn't heard from you either."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you guys like that, but I'm back now and that's all that matters." I needed her to understand.

"No, it's not all that matters Tala. Don't you get it? We had no idea what happened to you. We drove those two hours to that house. And do you know what we found there?" she paused to take a shaky breath, as if the memory was too much for her, "We found you, torn to shreds. There was so much blood. You're phone was laying on the ground a few feet from you with over a hundred missed calls from me and Dan. And then, then we had to bury you. And now three years later, you're back, just like that?" her voice was high pitched, like it always was when she was upset.

I didn't know what to say. How could I respond to that? "Bree, I-"

She cut off by throwing her arms around me, crying. For a minute I was shocked before I hugged her back.

"So…" I started hesitantly, "Does that mean you forgive me?" she was laughing and crying at the same time.

"Of course, of course I forgive you, you idiot!" Her smile was so wonderful to see. She used the back of her hands to wipe the tears out of her eyes, "I'm sorry," she laughed, "I'm such a mess!"

A chill ran through me. Almost like a brief flash of horror. She was so willing to forgive me for this, but what if I told her about that night? The night I made my deal… would she be able to forgive me then? I pushed those fears down, because today, I just wanted to be happy. I was finally with my sister again. And we started talking. I told her about waking up in our house, and meeting Sophiel. I could have stayed all day and just talked and catch up, because I had missed three years. But I knew I had to keep moving. People were dying, and there weren't a lot of people out there to stop it. Hunters were few and far between. Good hunters were even harder to find.

"I'm so sorry Bree, but I have to go! I'm gonna see Dan tonight and then I have a case in Montana." Her smile disappeared and she looked at me, part annoyed, part worried.

"Why? Why do you have to hunt? You just got back, and this is what got you into trouble in the first place. You don't have to be responsible for everyone's lives."

"I like it. I like saving people, there is no greater feeling than knowing that you just saved a life. That's a special feeling, and it gives my life meaning. Plus, I don't have to get close to people. I can just stop in a town, and get out. I fly under the radar. It's what I've always done, and it's what I'm meant to do. It's where I belong." She nodded, taking in my words. I knew she understood, but I also knew she wasn't going to be happy about it.

I stood up to leave and she pulled me into a hug. "Just be careful. I don't want to lose you again. We already lost our parents. We lost our mom to hunting. I understand why you love it, but just promise to keep in touch. Please." I promised her that I would and tried to ignore that sinking feeling in my stomach. Mom. I had to tell her, but I couldn't. Not now. That was one secret that she would hopefully never know about. The time just wasn't right, and it never would be. Before I left, I turned and waved goodbye to her. Her beaming smile meant the world to me.

I jumped in the car; I had a ten-hour drive to get up to Illinois to see Dan. The drive seemed to take forever. Bree had welcomed me back with open arms, but Dan was different. I knew how much he loved me, but he was skeptical. He would want proof that it was me and not some demon using my body to get what they wanted. Proof that I couldn't give him. The touch of a silver knife would burn me in the same way that it would burn a shapeshifter or werewolf. I only hoped that I could make him see that it was, in fact, truly me.

I pushed my worries to the back of my mind. My sister was alive, and well, and happy. And so were my grandparents. And they knew I was alive. I allowed myself to smile. I was honestly overjoyed with everything in my life. When you go through hell for as long as I had, you have to take every small victory and cling onto it with all your heart and soul. And that's what I was doing. I was taking everything since I had come back as a victory. I was rejoicing in the smallest things.

I finally arrived in Evanston. He had an off-campus apartment and my grandparents had once again given me his address. It was 10 at night, so he was probably not around. He usually went out with his friends at night. I walked up to the apartment and knocked on the door. Sure enough, it was locked and no one came. I waited for five minutes and tried again. Still nothing.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my lock picks. I apparently still had all of my previous skill because it only took me about twenty seconds to pick the lock. I walked inside and sure enough, it was empty. I tossed my bag into the corner and slid my shoes off before locking the door behind me. I sat down on the couch and pulled out my phone to update my grandparents on what was going on. I looked around at his apartment. It was typical for my brother. A little messy but not out of control. He had his knife collection up against the side of the room. I looked at the kitchen and couldn't believe my eyes. My water bottle was siting on his counter. He had kept it these past few years. I couldn't believe it. I smiled brightly and leaned back on the couch, waiting for him to come home.

* * *

I sat my water bottle down on the kitchen counter that I was leaning up against and dropped my bag at my feet. Dan raised his eyebrows at me and looked at the bones in the bag. He didn't look nearly as worried as Bree did. He was like me in that way, always hiding his emotion. I knew he had spent all year preparing himself for this moment. He was so strong, but I could tell that he was starting to lose it.

"Are we sure this is even going to work? I mean it's a rumor, and it worked on some minor demon. Lilith is like, megabitch power demon." I laughed at his creative choice of words. He always made me laugh, even when I was literally heading to my death.

"It'll work!" I said my voice brimming with confidence, "Lilith is going to pay for what she did to our family."

Dan gave me a searching glare. "You may fool Bree with your false confidence, but not me. I know you're scared, and I would be too if I was in your position." He kicked the bag to the side and walked over to stand next to me. "You're not going to hell. If anyone can get out of this, it's you. You're the smartest and bravest hunter I know. Everything is going to work out. It always does for you."

I closed my eyes for a long time. I had two hours left. Just two hours. I realized that I was breathing hard, and I felt Dan pull me into a hug. He was my older brother, and I knew he would do everything he could to keep me safe. Usually our roles were reversed. I acted like the oldest, always looking out for my siblings. But for once, I needed him to comfort me, and he wasn't letting me down. He never had let me down.

"I'll call you at midnight okay?" Dan said. I nodded trying to calm my racing heart. I realized that my hand was shaking. He gave me a kiss on the head. And for a minute we just looked at each other. I had to be strong. I shoved all my fears down and lifted up my head. He gave me a nod and I nodded back. I took a deep breath, grabbed the bones and left.

As soon as I got to my car, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Dan. "You left your water bottle here. But I'll see you tomorrow night and you can get it then! I love you." I smiled and started up the car. I was ready to take down Lilith, to destroy the demon that ripped my family apart.

* * *

I sat up as soon as I heard his car pull into the driveway. I heard him walk up and fiddle with his keys. Here we go. I thought. I was a tad nervous. There was a good chance he was going to attack me. I pulled out my vial of holy water just in case, and got ready to prove that it was me.

The door opened and he saw me almost instantly. Dan slammed the door behind him, dropped his keys, and went for his knife. Then he came at me.

I rolled my eyes and stepped into his attack. He slashed with his knife and I grabbed his wrist, putting pressure on it, forcing him to drop the knife. I kicked it out of the way and shoved him backwards.

"Wait!" I snapped, "Just wait okay, and give me a minute. I'll prove it to you."

"You're not my sister!" he snapped back, but I noticed he wasn't advancing on me anymore, nor did he go to retrieve his knife. "My sister has been dead for over three years."

"I promise you that it's me. Look, I'll prove it." I poured some of the holy water over my hand, then got a pinch of salt and dropped it in my mouth. "See? Not a demon or a spirit. It's me."

He still looked unsure and I saw him approach me cautiously. "If you're really Tala, then the silver knife test won't work…" he narrowed his eyes, "You know how to prove it to me that it's really you."

I sighed, "Fine, whatever." A second later, I had shifted into a wolf. A deep grey wolf with a black face, legs, and black on my back as well. A shapeshifter wouldn't be able to do this.

This time Dan didn't hesitate, and I heard a crack in his voice as he said my name "Tala?" I nodded and shifted back into human form. Not a second to late as Dan wrapped his arms around me, beaming. I laughed and hugged him back.

"I hope you don't mind if I stay here tonight." I said

"Stay forever – I don't mind! I've missed you so much! How are you back? When did you get back? Have you seen Bree yet? " I didn't try to answer his flood of questions.

"I'm getting back into hunting, I've only been back for a few days, but I want to hunt, because, I mean, it's what I love to do! Don't worry I'll be careful though!" Dan didn't look worried like Bree did. Instead he just smiled at me. He understood where I was coming from. Unlike Bree, he knew what had truly happened in the graveyard four years ago. I didn't regret any of my decisions from that night. He understood my decisions, even if he didn't support them.

Dan strode out to the kitchen and tossed me my water bottle "You left this here." We both broke down laughing. Then we ordered a pizza and just talked. I answered most of his questions and it was so simple and easy. I got caught up on what had been happening with him the last three years. I told him about Sophiel and what had happened since I came back.

The night went by too fast, and before I knew it, it was morning and time for me to leave. Dan and I went out to breakfast and then he told me to call if I needed anything and I promised to visit in a week or so when I finished the case. Then I said goodbye. It was time to hunt.

* * *

As soon as I entered the small town of Sumner, Wisconsin, I noticed the police cars everywhere. There must have been another so-called suicide. I pulled up to the house and walked over to the nearest group of people.

"Excuse me," I said holding out my fake badge, "FBI, can anyone tell me what happened here?"

One of the people standing in the circle looked up at me and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "I don't know why she did it. My sister was so successful. She had a family and kids. It just doesn't make sense. I mean, why would she kill herself? That's the second suicide this week. I just don't understand!" She broke down crying again.

I was always bad at the comforting part. As soon as she started crying, I had to resist the urge to curl my lip. I just patted her on the back and turned to go talk to one of the cops. So it was definitely a suicide. Another one.

I walked up to who seemed like the lead officer on the case. I held up my FBI badge and spoke to him, watching as he seemed to step back a little. "Anything suspicious come up in the investigation yet, such as foul play or signs of a break-in?" I watched silently as he spoke slowly, trying carefully to choose his words properly. I narrowed my eyes a little, tilting my chin upward a tad. "So, you have no idea what's going on?"

The lead officer gulped almost audibly, his eyes darting from me to another officer on the force. "I didn't say that, miss. I just got here myself. I have just taken over for another officer on the force who had been here for a while. I'm only the assistant police chief."

I nodded my head slowly, mentally slapping myself on the forehead. I couldn't believe they'd allowed this dunderhead to help lead the force in this investigation. Sighing gently, I looked at the house before looking back at the officer. "Alright, let's go do a walkthrough of the crime scene." I frowned lightly when I saw the officer glance around behind me and I shifted slightly, brows furrowing as I waited for his answer.

The officer exhaled softly and looked at me, studying my face before slowly nodding. "Alright, let's go do the walkthrough. Follow me." I growled under my breath as the officer started walking toward the house, ducking underneath the police line. I grudgingly followed, ducking under the tape myself. I headed toward the house and inside one of my jacket pockets, I could hear the slight warbling of the EMF meter. I bit my lower lip, eyes darting around to make sure no one could hear it. Reaching inside, I switched it off before walking inside the front door, where I was met by another police officer. "Take me on the tour, if you will."

The officer nodded and walked forward, up the stairs and toward the master bathroom. He spoke as we walked. "There was nothing suspicious about her death, other than that she slit her own wrists and was found in her own pool of bloody water in the bathtub."

We strode into the bedroom together just as he finished explaining what he found. The girl had been lying half submerged in the bloody water. The door had been locked from the inside and there was no sign of a break in. It had every mark of a normal suicide. We reached the door of the bathroom, which was covered in police tape. He pushed open the door and gestured for me to go in first. I took in the scene. The tub had been drained but everything else was left alone. On the ground around the tub, there were multiple blood spatters. I knelt down to examine them closely. It looked like the water had splashed out of the tub. I also noticed that the shampoo and conditioner was knocked on the floor as well. "Did the police who were first on the scene touch anything?" I asked, glancing up at the officer.

"No Agent Crawford." He replied. "The first officer on the scene drained the tub, but he did not touch anything else."

I nodded my head and stood up. "So explain this to me, how come the water is splashed all around the tub and the bottles are knocked on the floor?"

He looked uncomfortable, shifting from side to side. "Well it's natural when a body loses a lot of blood to start convulsing, maybe she hit the edge of the tub and knocked everything over."

"That's the safe explanation." I muttered under my breath turning to look back over the scene.

"Ma'am?" the officer asked, confused.

I ignored him. There was no need to explain what happened here. Where was the razor? I bent over the tub to make sure I hadn't missed it, and then I glanced around on the floor. It wasn't there. "Can you give me a moment?" I snapped out to the annoying shadow that stood behind me.

The officer looked shocked, and I realized that I might have been a tad abrupt with my speech. But I really needed to pull out my EMF meter and figure this out. I resisted the urge to snap at the officer again. Instead I turned around and gave him a bright smile. "I'm sorry, I just need a moment to call one of my partners. He'll want to see this." The officer still looked baffled but he nodded and strode out of the room.

Finally! Everything added up. No murder weapon, no break in, the blood spatters on the ground that showed a sign of struggle…. I just had one more thing to check. I pulled out my EMF meter and switched it on. It starting beeping right away and as I got closer to the tub, the readings got stronger. I smiled to myself and switched it off. Then I turned and left the bathroom.

"Anything? What did your partner the say?" The Officer drilled me as soon as I came out of the room.

"You were right sir." I gave him a fake smile, "Just a normal suicide." I gave a quick nod to the other officers on my way out of the house. I had all the information I needed. It was time to put a name to the suicide ghost.


	4. Saint

Research was always my least favorite part of the job. I also hated dealing with the cops. I always thought of them as a bunch of dumbasses that never had any clue as to what was really going on. In all my years of hunting, I had only met a handful of cops who actually seemed slightly capable enough to handle the case. At least research was easy. I just found it slightly boring. I never enjoyed sitting at the computer. When Dan and I hunted together, before I died, he would usually do the research. My favorite part of the job was the actual hunt. Saving people, destroying evil, it was always simple. That's why I used to specialize in demon cases. Demon cases were simple. Find the demon and exorcise it. No research involved. Sure I still had to talk to the police and everything but sometimes talking to the police was entertaining. It's fun to laugh at stupid people. I silently cursed myself for choosing a stupid spirit case. At least it would be simple. And I knew it was best to start easy instead of jumping headfirst into the dangerous demon cases.

I drummed my fingers on the table. I had suspected it was a spirit case when I first read about it. After exploring the crime scenes, I was certain of it. My EMF meter had been going off like crazy when I was at the scenes of death. It had to have something to do with suicides. And both of the victims were parents with kids. It was a small connection but so far all I had. I typed into my computer "Suicides in Sumner, Wisconsin." Two popped up, the two people who had been killed in the last week. Then there was someone who drowned in the early 1900's. But there wasn't anything else.

Maybe I should call my brother. We were usually good at figuring out cases together. We made quite a team the year after my mom had died. Sometimes we had gone off alone on our own cases, and sometimes we worked together. I had almost asked him to come with me on his case. But he was at medical school. He was following his dream, and there was no way I was going to drag him away from that. And I also didn't want to put him in danger.

I pressed my lips together, trying to figure out what was going on. Maybe it wasn't the town; maybe there was a different connection between the victims. The victims weren't related in any way. But maybe there was something else. I pulled up the obituaries and news reports on both of them and started leafing through; looking for anything I may have missed.

"Thomas Abelson, 34, commits suicide." I mumbled skimming through the article. "Is survived by his two daughters, Kayla and Madison. Kayla, age 17 is an honor student and in the top 10 percent of her class." I flipped over to the other article, just noticing something, "Diane Oliver, age 42, survived by her son Shane who was valedictorian of his graduating class." That was it! Not only did they have families, their kids were both above average and highly intelligent.

The spirit was making the killings look like suicides. That much I knew for sure. So the spirit was probably the spirit of some pour soul who had committed suicide. And it was going after parents who had successful children. Maybe that's what had happened. Maybe this spirit had been pushed by his parents to always be the best. And now it was getting revenge. The children of the victims had also all been teenagers. Maybe this spirit had been a teenager when he died. That would make sense. The only thing that wasn't connecting was why now, and why in Sumner?

I quickly typed into my computer, "Wisconsin, suicide of teenager." And I got results this time. The first article was recent, from only four months ago. There was a teenager who had slit her wrists after being bullied. But he didn't fit the case. From the pictures and everything online, it looked as if she loved her parents, who had never seemed to push her. Plus, she didn't stand out with her grades. I clicked on the second article. It was a young man, who had just been accepted into Harvard. He left behind a suicide note saying that he was tired of constantly being pushed to be the best. He crumbled under the pressure and had hung himself one night. This had been one year ago. He had lived one town over, but was buried in Sumner, Wisconsin. Keith Mason. He was buried at Union Cemetery.

I looked up Union cemetery to figure out the last piece of the puzzle. Why was his spirit just now appearing? It didn't take long for me to find out why. A little over a week ago, a large tree was in the process of being removed from the grounds to make more room in the cemetery. The tree being uprooted must have been near Keith's grave. That disturbance probably set him off and his spirit had become vengeful and started going after parents that had successful children. He was a spirit and wouldn't be able to think everything through. He probably thought that successful kids had a parent that constantly pushed him or her and stressed them out.

I smiled brightly. That was almost too easy, it only took about half an hour of research. Hunting just came naturally to me. I grabbed the keys to the motel and walked out to my car, grabbing my sawed-off and the rounds that I had loaded with rock salt. I threw the gun and the salt into a bag and then grabbed a lighter and gasoline. I threw the bag into my backseat and drove straight to dinner. I would go to the cemetery at night. It was a pretty open cemetery. I wouldn't be able to get away with digging up a grave in late afternoon, unless I wanted to get arrested.

* * *

I arrived at the cemetery shortly after midnight. It was much more open than I would have liked, there were hardly any trees. It was in a very open field and in daylight; you could probably see the entire cemetery from the road. Thankfully, this late at night, no cars were driving by. Still, I wanted to get this over with as quick as possible. There had already been two deaths and I wasn't about to let there be a third. I glanced around once more to make sure that no one was there.

I quickly shifted into a wolf. It was easier this way, I would be able to find the grave quicker and easier, and I couldn't get caught this way. If a police shined a light at a wolf, they would call up animal control or whatever and then leave. Unfortunately I speak from experience on that particular matter. Of course, that would spoil my plans for the night, but it would be better than getting arrested.

I scanned the cemetery looking for the tree that had been uprooted. There were perks to being half wolf. Better night vision. I didn't even need a flashlight and it didn't take me long to locate the ancient tree. It was a large oak, probably over 100 years old. I would never understand why people felt the need to destroy wildlife like that. It must have once been a beautiful tree towering over the graveyard. Now it was uprooted and chopped to bits. If I was a spirit and a tree like that had been uprooted near me, I'd be pissed too.

I started to make my way over to the tree when I heard voices. I cursed under my breath and dove behind one of the graves just as three people walked by, all teenagers, and all guys. I rolled my eyes. People were so stupid.

One of the guys shone his flashlight over at the tree, "Think we'll see some ghosts?" he said. His friends all laughed and started being typical teenagers and making their stupid comments. They shoved each other around and kept shining their light on the graves, reading them out loud. I pressed my lips tightly together. I was definitely disappointed in myself for leaving my FBI badge in the car. They kept playing around looking at the graves and I stayed in my spot. I wondered how long it had been? Half an hour, maybe an hour, or was it longer? They needed to leave soon, the night wouldn't last forever and I needed to close the case tonight. Then I saw it. There was just a flicker behind one of them.

"Damn it." I snapped. The three boys weren't paying any attention; they were too busy being complete idiots. They hadn't even heard me cussing in the shadows. I waited to see if I would find it again and sure enough this time it wasn't a flicker. It was a full-bodied spirit holding a razor blade. I knew it was the spirit of Keith – it matched the picture I had found online exactly. I jumped up out of my hiding spot, gun in my hand.

Before I even had a chance to fire at the spirit, it vanished. All three boys whipped around and saw me. They stopped in their tracks staring at my gun in horror. But I didn't have time to explain to them what was happening. Keith was after them. "Leave, now!" I snapped. They were all still frozen, still looking at me in fear. "Why aren't you running, you dumbass idiots?!" I snarled, "Shouldn't you know not to come into a graveyard at night?" They were still frozen, and I realized that they were no longer looking at my gun in terror. They were looking at something directly behind me.

I turned around to slow. A second later, I was flying across the graveyard. I hit the ground hard and rolled to my feet, gun still in hand. I fired twice at Keith, hitting him and he vanished once more. The three teenagers were screaming and running towards their car. But if Keith was after them, then that wouldn't work. It didn't fit the pattern though, why were they being targeted? Keith had only gone after parents up to this point. I didn't have time to solve that puzzle. I sprinted after them, cutting them off right before they reached their car.

"Don't hurt us, we're leaving, I swear!" one of the guys, the one with the black hat cried. They couldn't have been older than fourteen or fifteen, probably freshmen in high school. I glanced over my shoulder real fast to make sure Keith wasn't back.

"Listen to me, you are all in danger. You have to trust me." They were in pure panic mode. They kept looking around and I could tell that they were terrified to be near me. I realized that I still had my gun in my hand. I slipped my sawed-off inside my coat. The teenagers seemed to relax a little bit now that a gun wasn't pointing at them. "Just follow me, okay?" I raised my eyebrows at them and they exchanged glances with each other. I guess they trusted me enough because they walked after me as I went to my car. I unlocked it and pulled out a big container of salt and dug out an ion rod. "Make a ring of salt, and whatever you do, don't leave the circle." I handed the salt to another guy before handing the iron rod to the shortest member of the group, "If he comes close enough, just swing it and it will repel the spirit." I could tell they had a million questions but I didn't stay to hear them. I ran back towards Keith's' grave, stopping only to watched them for a minute to make sure that they were doing what I told them to do.

I pulled out my gun as I approached the tree. Unfortunately, my shovel wasn't where I had left it. "Of course." I grumbled under my breath. I kept all my senses on high alert while I looked around for my shovel. I was about to give up and go back to my car to get another one when I saw it. It had been snapped in half and it was all the way on the other side of the graveyard. I curled my lip in anger. This spirit was really starting to piss me off.

I walked over to my shovel and picked it up. Screw this. I was just going to go grab a different shovel. This one was useless. Then I heard it behind me. The faintest rustle. There was no wind tonight. It could only be one thing.

I turned and got my first good look at the spirit. I was always amazed with how real some spirits looked. He looked so real. Solid with brown hair and a light build. He glided right through gravestones as he came towards me, the only hint to him being a spirit. Usually when I was confronted with spirits, I was angry, ready to destroy them for their evil deeds. But this was different. It was sad to just look at him. He looked almost exactly like he did in the picture from the article, except for his neck, and his eyes. His neck was red with a rope burn from where he had hung himself. But the worst was looking at his eyes. He looked miserable, stressed, frustrated even. It was almost like I was looking at a reflection of myself. Before my mother died, that's what I saw every time I looked in the mirror.

I was frozen for too long. He flicked his hand and my gun went spinning out across the grass. He stepped towards me, holding the razor blade in his hand, ready to kill me. I knew I could get out of this easily. Turn into a wolf, run back to the car and drive off with the teenagers. Come back tomorrow night and burn the body. Or I could even get away as a human, run back to the car, grab a shovel, dig up the grave, or… but I had a different idea in my head.

"Keith Mason? That's your name right?" The spirit stopped, eyes narrowed. Then he started walking towards me again. "Listen to me, Keith. I know your story, and I know what happened to you. Please, just listen." He stopped again; he still had that sad look in his eyes. They were so dark. But I had his attention now. If only I could get him to listen. If only I could communicate to him in the proper way.

I was shocked to hear him speak "You won't let me get my revenge. You're in my way. They all need to die." His voice was flat and robotic sounding. It was strange to encounter a spirit that could communicate so well. Sure, it happened, but usually they had a much more difficult time communicating. Of course, interacting with me was easy; I was a supernatural creature myself. My brother always said that made me the most brilliant hunter since I was already fine-tuned to the supernatural. And I had found that to be true.

If he could communicate with me, then surely I could get through to him. There must be some way to stop him. I took a chance and stayed right where I was, looking at him and talking to him, "I know how you feel. My mom made me grow up way too fast. She blamed me for everything. I've made mistakes too. My mother blamed me for everything. She pushed me all the time. But coming back and killing people, you have to let go of the past, move on. Leave this place. You don't belong here anymore. It will only bring you more despair and anger and hatred. Please. Leave."

He looked at me full of indecision, but I knew that my plan hadn't worked. I didn't hesitate this time. I pulled out my gun and shot him twice before grabbing the shovel and sprinting at top speed to the grave.

I was grateful for the darkness of the graveyard. The teenagers wouldn't be able to see me, and I knew it would go faster this way. I felt the familiar ripple of my body as I changed into a wolf and started furiously digging at the ground. I made progress quickly, and before long I had reached the coffin. I grabbed the shovel and broke it open to reveal the bones after shifting back to my human form.

The razor blade would have hit me in the neck if it weren't for my enhanced hearing. I heard the faint whistle from the blade flying through the air and hit the ground as fast as I could. The spirit was back and I had left my gun six feet above me. I cursed under my breath and pulled out my container of salt. Nothing. Just silence. I had to move fast now. I emptied most of the container on the bones. Then I dumped the gasoline on as well. I heard a whipping sound but I reacted to late. A split second after I heard the sound, there was a rope around my neck. I felt it pull tight behind me and I fumbled in my pocket for the lighter.

I was yanked out of the grave and the spirit tightened the rope. I struggled for air as I flicked the lighter over and over hoping it would light. On the fifth flick it finally worked. I tossed it into the grave and watched as the bones started to burn

The pressure on my neck disappeared instantly. I turned around and saw Keith's spirit reappear and go up in flames. I allowed myself a few moments to breathe and relax before I started to gather all my things together. As I prepared to leave, I realized that I had done it. My first case back. For a brief moment I was stunned then the familiar sense of triumph came over me. I was back in the game. I smiled brightly and went to go find the teenagers to tell them it was over.

* * *

"Thank you again." Mike, one of the guys from the graveyard said, shaking my hand. I had decided to stay in town for the night to explain to the guys what had happened. I didn't say much, just that there was a spirit and now the spirit was gone. But there was still one thing that didn't add up. I just had to find the right way to say it.

Jacob, another one of the teenagers looked over at me, "You saved our lives, and is there anything we can do to thank you for that?" I looked at him. I knew exactly what needed to be done. I had done more research last night to try to figure out why Keith had been after the three boys. And I had figured it out. The suicide of the young girl was because of bullying. And she had gone to the same school as Mike, Jacob, and Colin, the three guys who had been in the graveyard.

After more digging, I had realized that those three were very popular at the school. And they were bullies at the school as well. It was all connected. If they had bullied the young girl, then that's why Keith had been after them. Even though they didn't deserve to die for that, they still needed to know the whole truth and they needed to change.

"Actually there is something you can do." All three looked at me not saying anything, waiting for me to continue. I swept on, "you can tell me the truth. Were you involved in the bullying of Tricia last year?"

There was silence and all three looked horrified. Then they all started talking at once

"I…"

"We didn't…"

"Wasn't supposed to get that far…."

"Never touched her…"

"Not the only ones…"

"Stop. I don't want to hear excuses." I tried not to be too cold with them. They were only sixteen years old, but they needed to learn. "I'm not saying you are the sole reason why that girl is dead, but you are part of the reason. And that's why a spirit tried to kill you. That was the spirit of a young man who had committed suicide. Someone in his life pushed him into killing himself. You three helped push this poor girl into killing herself. I don't care why you bullied her, but I want you to promise me, all three of you, that you will never do that again. Hurting someone like that is never acceptable." They were silent and looking at me, I could see regret in all of their eyes, but I had to be sure, "Don't do it again, don't bully someone just for the fun of it. Or you'll have me to answer to. I know a lot of people. And I will hear about it. I promise you, you do not want to be on my bad side."

Mike was the one who spoke up, "I believe it, we promise." Colin and Jacob nodded in agreement.

"We won't make that mistake again." Colin said, and then cautiously, "What's your name? Are we ever going to see you again?"

I laughed, I could see such a bright future for these boys if they heeded my advice, "Forget me. Forget everything but what I told you about bullying. Forget what happened, and forget the graveyard. You'll be happier for it. Just remember what I told you." I got in my car and all three waved goodbye before walking away and talking together. I watched them go with a smile on my face, glad that they were alive. That was the biggest perk of the job. Saving people and watching them go to live a normal life.

I turned on the radio and blasted my rock music. I was ready to hit the road. Hopefully I would find a demon case before long, it's not like they were hard to find. The gates of hell had been opened while I was down there, and I had almost gotten out. Even though I didn't make it out, I knew that there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of demons that had escaped. I started my car and turned down the road. It was time to visit my brother and tell him I was back on the job.

* * *

"Not a scratch. You're amazing you know that?" I laughed at Dan's words. I had just gotten to his apartment after the case. I was planning to spend a couple of days with my brother until I found another case. I was hoping to get a demon case next time. They were kind of my specialty, ever since Lilith…. Sure spirit cases are good, you get to save people, but they were always so simple. They were almost too easy for me. I liked a challenge. I tended to avoid monster cases though. I'm half monster, so killing them was always a little weird. Plus, on more than one occasion, other hunters had shown up coming after me and then I would have to flee town.

"So tell me." he interrupted my thoughts. "You get back from hell, and go straight back to hunting. You spend 365 years in hell, and you never broke. You never tortured someone. And now you are right back to saving people. I'm just wondering, are you an angel or something? Because sometimes I look at you and I realize that you are as close to perfect as anyone can get."

I didn't know how to respond to that. That wasn't me. I was not perfect. "I'm not perfect, not even close." I snapped. I looked up at him, my eyes narrowed, "We both know why." For a minute he was silent and confused. Then I saw the memory flash through his eyes. That night in the graveyard, what I had done. I always tried to avoid talking about it; the night that changed my life forever. I wanted to be sorry and upset about what I did, but if I was being honest, I had no regrets. He knew. He was the only person I told. I didn't even tell my grandparents.

"Does Bree know?" he said. There was no bitterness, no anger in his voice. I shook my head. "You're going to have to tell her sometime. She's going to find out eventually. I won't tell her, but she needs to find out from you. If she knew you kept this from her…" he didn't need to finish his sentence. I knew what would happen. Bree and I would never have the same relationship. Even if I told her what I did, not someone else, we would never be the same. I was certain that I would lose my sister. And that was why I had always avoided telling her. I just knew what she would want. She would want me to feel guilty, she would want to see regret in my eyes. She would forgive me if I were sorry for what I had done, but I wasn't going to fake that. Despite being the worst night of my life, it had brought me so much relief and I didn't regret it, not one bit. Dan understood, he didn't agree but at least he understood.

I let out a low growl. I hated talking about this, just the mention of it. It made me angry, upset, stressed, worried, just negative feelings all brought up to the surface. Dan was looking at me and I saw that same look in his eyes. We were both thinking about that night, and I knew we remembered it much differently. I shook my head, and let out a heavy sigh. As much as I tried to do the right thing, I would never be perfect. I couldn't escape from what I did. Dan knew that too. I looked at him for a long moment "I'm no saint."


	5. Deal

_November 1995_

_I walked in the house and kicked my shoes off by the door. Bree followed me in and closed the door behind her. My mother was in the kitchen__,__ making dinner. When we walked in, she turned and smiled at my sister, looking straight past me as if I wasn't there. Bree ran over and hugged her. She was so full of affection for my sister, but she didn't even greet me. Not like I expected her to. It had been one year and three months since my dad had died. But the wounds were still healing. We had lost so much in that house fire. I looked over at my mother. I wanted her to say something, anything. She had changed so much since my father's death. She had grown bitter, and shut me out of her life. Even now, I could tell she didn't care about me. She still blamed me for his death. And I didn't blame her, but I didn't regret my choice either. I had run back into that house to save my family, but I couldn't have carried my father out. I was only nine years old. I had made the choice to save my sister. I tried but I couldn't save my father too. I knew he would understand. I felt guilty about it every single day but I had to save Bree. I had always been so protective of my little sister. I had to keep her safe._

_My mother wasn't the only one who seemed to hate me. Dan and I hadn't really talked since the fire. Dan and my father had been so close and he thought I ruined his life when I failed to save our father. He just couldn't understand why I had failed to save both of them. Every time I tried to bring it up with him, to explain my decision, he shut me out or made an excuse. I still loved him with all my heart. We had been so close not too long ago. We used to go to the woods all the time together. We both had such a passion for nature and for being deep in the mountains. We used to be protective of each other. I don't know if he still felt that way about me. But I knew I would die for him without a second thought. I had just turned eleven years old. I was too young to be dealing with us and the stress it caused me. It felt like I had grown up so much in the year. When your own family shuts you out, you learn to grow up quickly._

"_Hey, is dinner ready?" my brother called from upstairs. He ran down the stairs, with a smile on his face, "Hey there Bree!" he welcomed my sister enthusiastically before turning and giving me a cool nod. A nod. That was a step in the right direction. At least he acknowledged me. I was still hopeful that we could fix our relationship. But I knew that it would take time. Time that I wasn't sure that I wanted to spend wasting on what seemed to be a futile attempt. _

"_What's for dinner?" I asked hesitantly. My mom turned and gave me a searching glare, almost impossible to read. Dan tensed up, anticipating a knockout, dragout, blowout fight like we normally did. For the past few months, whenever I tried to talk to my mother, we always ended up getting in a huge fight. He was probably wondering why I still tried._

"_You can salt the doors while you're waiting; it'll be done when you get back." she said coolly, ignoring my question. Salting the doors was something new that we had never done before. I was positive that the house fire was perfectly natural, but she wasn't. Ever since he died, she had taught us – or rather taught Dan and me – about hunting and the supernatural. I picked up on it much faster than Dan. But she was never proud of me. I could throw my knife across the yard and bulls-eye a target with ease and I wouldn't get any praise. I would usually get a comment like "It's a good thing you know how to use that knife, because when the hunters find out that you're half monster, they'll try to kill you. Not that I blame them." Those comments always hurt. I always thought of my abilities as a gift, and I never thought of myself as a monster. But she always pushed that towards me, reminding me over and over that I was a monster and if I wasn't family, then I deserved to die._

_I did what she told me to do. I didn't feel like arguing. But I didn't want to eat here either. Instead, after I was finished I walked straight out the door and headed to my Grandparents house. Only Bree asked me where I was going. She still cared for me, which was a relief. At least one person in the family still loved me. Leesi and Micco, my grandparents, were more like parents to me now. I hated to admit it, but I trusted them more than I trusted my own mother. They supported me and helped me with everything. They were so kind to me, and it was nice to be around them. They truly loved me._

_I thought about our family, and how we used to be. All five of us used to get along. My dad and mom used to love us all equally . . . before I had made that choice to save my sister's life that changed everything. Now, Bree and Danny were loved, and I was ignored. The only time she acknowledged my existence was when she needed a back up for a hunting trip. An eleven year old doesn't make a good hunting partner. All that I did was listen to what she said. Usually she just threw me out in the open. Then I would take cover when she came in guns blazing. I was counting down the days until I would be old enough to start hunting on my own. Then I could save lives and keep Bree and Danny safe._

_September 6, 2004_

_"This is a bad idea – a very bad idea." Dan mumbled under his breath. He was sitting next to me in the motel. We were busy cleaning our weapons for tonight. Bree and my mom were out picking up some supplies before we left. Dan examined the gun that he had just finished cleaning before dropping it in the bag, "There, that's the last one." He let out a heavy sigh. I gave him a tight smile. He had finally forgiven me for what happened with dad. We had grown really close again over the past few years. He was 22 years old, and he resembled my father in every aspect. In one week, he was going to be attending medical school. I was so proud of him. But my mom needed his help before he left for school. I had tried to persuade her that we didn't need Dan or Bree but she insisted on it. Then we had shouted and threatened each other, our typical exchange._

_The door to the motel opened and Bree walked in, carrying a handful of water bottles. She dropped them in the corner before coming and sitting down next to us. She looked so much like my mom. Her hair was brown and she was pale-skinned and her eyes, blue. She was a little bit taller than me even though she was four years younger. She had just recently turned 16, and was going to be a sophomore in high school. I was 19, soon to be 20, and I didn't go to college. I couldn't really. I had to stay and keep hunting. I had to keep my siblings safe._

_ "Is that holy water?" I asked, nodding my head at the water bottles she had dropped in the corner._

_"Yeah, I got two full bottles for each of us. Probably won't be enough but, it's something. I still think this is a bad idea," she said. Bree wasn't a hunter. She hated it. She got too nervous around the demons and the spirits. It just wasn't her thing. She could still kick ass when she needed to, but she had a kind heart. Carrying a gun around was not something she enjoyed at all. I didn't want her here either. I trusted her, but I was scared for her. I didn't want her to get hurt. I had tried to convince my mother that Bree and Dan didn't need to go on this stupid hunt of hers. However, she wanted to go after some big name demon. I could never remember what her name was, but my mom said we needed Bree and Dan's help. Bree looked terrified though._

_ "For what it's worth, I think it's a bad idea as well." I dropped my silver knife on the bed. My dad had made it for me shortly before he died. It was a comfort for me to just hold the knife. Whenever I was nervous, I tended to hold it in my hands, tapping it against a desk or a table. I stood up and starting pacing, agitated, "Like, why does she think it's a good idea to involve you two? I'm not saying that you guys are bad hunters or anything, because you're not, but why is she going to risk our entire family? Haven't we lost enough?" I curled my lip in anger. I had no love for my mother anymore. She kept making mistakes, she always used me as bait, and she never once showed any sign that she cared for me. And now she was going to risk my brother and sister. I let out a low growl, "If we succeed tonight, I'm never hunting with her again."_

_Dan and Bree exchanged a look. They were used to these rants of mine. Almost every exchange between my mom and me was full of bitterness and usually ended up as a shouting match. Usually, these fights ended up with me storming from the house and slamming the door behind me. I knew that Dan and Bree still loved my mom, but I just couldn't bring myself to love her anymore. Not after all the years of being shunned, being hated, and being thrown to monsters as bait._

_ "Hey, calm down. No use working yourself up before this hunt." Dan's voice cut into my thoughts. "Listen, I'm not asking you to love her, but tonight, we all have to trust each other. This is easily the most dangerous hunt any of us have ever been on. Lilith is not a demon to take lightly. And, I know how powerful you are, but you can't risk using your powers around her. She's a big name demon and if she finds out, then every demon out there is going to know about you. The best thing we can do is all work together to gank the bitch. Getting worked up about Mom before we even start is not the way to do that. Can you please try to get along with her for this hunt? Then you can leave and you don't ever have to deal with her again. Let's just get through tonight. Deal?"_

_ Lilith. That was her name. Why couldn't I remember that? I glanced over at my brother, and then looked at Bree. She was sitting on the bed watching us. My sister tried to avoid conflict as much as possible. If I could kill Lilith, then I could keep her safe. "Fine," I snapped, "I'll try, but just for tonight. After that, I'm done trying. I'm sick of it. One of these days, she's going to get one of you killed." I couldn't bear the thought of either of them dying. I loved them both too much._

_I whipped around as the door opened again. I didn't realize how tense I was. My mom walked in. like normal she ignored me and turned to my siblings, "Do we have everything?" she asked. Dan nodded and Bree pressed her lips tightly together. I could tell she was anxious. She didn't want to be here, and I didn't want her here. I didn't want Dan here either. I would be perfectly happy if I could go after Lilith by myself. I didn't trust my mom, and I wanted to protect my siblings. If was by myself, I would have more options and I might actually be able to survive. But with my mom's so called "plans" I would probably end up dead. My mom's brisk voice cut into my thoughts, "Good, let's go. I'll explain the plan when we get there." She gave a curt nod to my brother and walked towards the door. _

_ "Let's just charge in blind then. That's always the best way to do things." I muttered under my breath. Seriously? Did she think that we were indestructible? There was no way I was going to lead Bree into a situation without knowing what was going on. I stepped in front of her before she could walk out the door and crossed my arms. "Where is she at?" I said through clenched teeth. I was usually good at controlling my temper, but whenever I was around my mom, I couldn't control my fiery personality. Our relationship was so beyond repair._

_She gave me a disgusted look, as if she was hoping I would never speak to her. "Lambdin Cemetery in Oklahoma," she said coolly, "Got a tip, from another hunter. Lilith is definitely there."_

_ "How do you plan on killing her?" I asked. I knew the answer. I was just trying to get more information from her. She had to fill us in on the details so we knew what we were heading into._

_ "We have the knife," she snapped. "Like I said, I'll explain when we get there._

_ "Why don't you explain now?" I fired back. "I'd like to know the plan before we get there so I don't feel like I'm going in blind." And so I don't get killed right away…_

_ "Why don't you ever listen to me? I said wait until we get there. And, that's what you're going to do!" She yelled back at me. I heard Bree let out a heavy sigh in the background. She was tired of our constant fighting. _

_ "You're gonna tell me now." I snarled at her, my hands clenched in fists. "You're not in charge here; we all have to work together."_

_ "Whoa, stop it. Seriously, you two," Dan shoved his way in-between us. "Really, can you go two minutes without trying to rip each other's throats out?"_

_ "Don't tempt me." I retorted. I hardly recognized this woman as my mother. Her blue eyes were icy cold when she looked at me. Sometimes I couldn't believe that we were related in any way. All we ever did was fight._

_ "Listen, she'll explain on the way." Dan looked back and forth between us. "Got it? And we're all going to get along for once. Give me the keys, I'm driving." He glared at me for a long time and then looked over at my mom, "If you two start fighting again, I'm pulling the car over."_

_ Bree grabbed the holy water and slid past me, heading towards the car. My brother looked at me one more time, a warning in his eyes. I shoved past my mother and grabbed the bag with our weapons. Dan and my mom walked out together and I followed them and jumped into the backseat next to Bree. We were about six hours away from Oklahoma, so thankfully it wouldn't be too long of a drive. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong._

* * *

_Once we entered Oklahoma, my mom explained the plan. "It's simple." She said, "Lilith is doing some sort of ritual in the cemetery at midnight. Knowing her, she'll suspect a trap. She's going to be very careful about checking her surroundings and making sure that no one is around to try and kill her. So we are going to have to hide far away. But we can't give her the opportunity to get away." She stopped for a moment and glanced at me "Tala, we're sending you out as bait. When she starts the ritual, do whatever you can to keep her attention on you and only you. Once you have her full attention, Dan and Bree will go in with the Holy Water. Finally I'll come and stab her in the back and kill her."_

_ I took a deep breath, trying my hardest not to go off on her. This wasn't fair; I was always used as bait. Bree was staring open mouthed at my mom, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Dan was shaking his head, but I could tell he was smart enough not to say anything, "Works for me," I said, keeping my voice tightly under control. She narrowed her eyes and then turned back to face the front._

_ "You don't have to do this!" Bree whispered anxiously. She cast a nervous glance at my mom, but she showed no signs of hearing, "Please? Just tell her that we're all going in together. That's what we should do. We need to work together. I don't want to watch you get hurt!" her voice was shaking._

_ "I don't really have a choice Bree," I whispered back, "I'll be fine. I have you and Dan backing me up. That makes me feel ten times better. Usually I have just her. Sometimes I think she's going to just leave me to get torn to shreds. But with Dan, and with you, I finally feel like I have back up. Everything's going to be fine. You'll see." I was lying through my teeth. This plan was going to backfire on us. I could feel it. At least I was the bait. If the plan didn't work out, then I could give my family as much time as possible to escape. I was almost certain that I was going to die tonight._

_ "So are we all good with the plan then?" My mom interrupted. Dan just sighed and shook his head yes. Bree let out a soft, almost inaudible yes. "Good." She said in a business-like tone. It was like she didn't care that she was about to throw me at a demon as a side dish, "Tala, once we get there, grab your gun and your knife and go straight into the cemetery. Stand somewhere near the center and wait for her. We'll be outside the cemetery waiting."_

"_All right," my voice was full of anger. Thankfully I managed to control the fear that I felt. I wasn't scared for myself; I was scared for my brother and sister. They couldn't die tonight. The rest of the ride, we were all silent. Bree was too terrified to speak. My mom was too busy thinking of her plan. And Dan was focused on driving, trying to distract himself. I looked out the window, preparing myself for the upcoming fight._

_He finally exited off the highway and I knew we were there. I pushed down my nerves and instead summoned my strength and determination. I had one goal: to get my siblings out of this fight alive. I would do whatever it took to keep them safe. They weren't losing their lives tonight. Dan made a right turn onto a shady road bordered by woods. Then I saw it up ahead. There was a large sign with the words "Lambdin Cemetery"._

_My brother pulled the car onto the side of the road and threw it in park. We were all quiet at this point. No one wanted to say anything. I made sure that I had my knife and jumped out of the car. My sister followed me and gave Dan two of the water bottles filled with Holy Water. I reached into the weapons bag and grabbed out my black Taurus with silver bullets. It wouldn't do much against a demon but at least it might slow her down. I stepped back to let everyone else grab their weapons._

_I grabbed Bree and pulled her in close, "Take care of yourself," I said softly, "If something goes wrong, you guys get out of here." She hugged me back wrapping her arms tightly around me. I could feel her shaking. I stepped back and placed my hands on her shoulders, giving her a small smile. She opened her mouth as if to say something but she couldn't get the words out. She just turned around and put her head in her hands breathing heavily._

"_Be careful out there." Dan said_ _from behind me__. I turned to him and hugged him as well. He wasn't shaking like Bree but I could tell how nervous he was for me, "It's all going to be fine. No one's dying tonight. Especially not you." He said in my ear. I breathed in deeply through my nose and stepped back. I looked over at Bree one more time. I smiled at her, gave my brother a nod, and then slipped alone into the cemetery._

* * *

_I paced along back and forth in the center of the graveyard. I kept my senses on high alert while I waited for Lilith. It was 11:59; she would be here at any second. There was no way that she would be kept from performing this ritual. That much I knew deep in my heart. I kept my left hand on my knife. I stopped pacing for a moment and looked in all directions. I swept my eyes from one end of the graveyard to the other. There was still no sign. For a moment, I wondered if my mom was wrong. Maybe Lilith wasn't going to be here tonight._

_It happened so fast that I didn't have a chance to react. I heard the footsteps and a second later; I was flung across the cemetery. I landed hard on the ground, narrowly avoiding cracking my head on a gravestone. I rolled to my feet as quick as I could manage. I threw my knife at the figure standing twenty feet away. It was a perfect hit – right in her heart._

"_Nice try there, honey." The woman sneered walking towards me and pulling the knife out of her chest. For a moment I was frozen in shock. Usually, my silver knife slowed them down. But she had been completely unaffected by it. She flicked her hand and I dove to the ground. The force that demons used to pin people was actually an invisible force. If you moved fast enough, you could avoid it. But no one could manage that forever. She laughed, as if she was enjoying this. She flicked her hand again and I managed to dodge once more. But the third time, I wasn't so lucky. I was flung back against one of the stones, pinned by her. I got my first good look at her, or the person she was possessing. She was pale with straight red hair. She was built gracefully, but I wasn't fooled. Whoever this girl was she had a demon inside of her and was now one of the most powerful people in the world. I managed to look into her eyes, and I didn't see black like normal. Instead they were white, pure white._

_She gave me a cruel smile and walked up to me, kneeling down to look at me, "Did Mommy send you as bait?" She cooed, running my silver knife along the edge of my face. I curled my lip, trying not to reveal how much the silver hurt me. Just the touch of silver felt like fire on my skin. But I couldn't show that. She couldn't find out what I was. "It's such a shame really," she whispered. "You see there's this prophecy about you, Tala Kenway. Apparently you're supposed to be important when the apocalypse rolls around, and trust me, that's coming soon," she paused to see my reaction, but I kept my face expressionless. "You see," she sighed, "We need you dead, but somebody would bring you back. So we need you in hell. We can't just kill you. We need you to make a deal. Your soul is priceless. So what do you want?"_

"_You really think I'm that stupid?" I snapped. It began to wonder that maybe she wasn't here for a ritual. She had been baiting us the whole time, and we had walked right into the trap. As the realization dawned on me, Lilith dug the knife into my arm and I tried not to scream. It felt like she was cutting me with a knife right out of the fire. She made a long cut from my shoulder down to my elbow and then looked at the blood dripping off of it. "No I don't think you're stupid," she paused long enough to make a deep cut on my cheek. "But everyone has a breaking point don't they? How about this: your entire family safe forever? I'll even bring back Daddy. You get ten years. Do we have a deal?"_

"_No deal." I snarled back. She narrowed her eyes and dug the knife into my side this time. I let out a sharp cry of pain. Why had I thrown her my silver knife? Why couldn't she be using a normal steel knife? The pain wouldn't be nearly as bad. She twisted the knife and I heard a crack and I knew she had broken one of my ribs. I gasped and struggled to breath normally. Where was my family? They should be here by now. How long was my mom going to sit around and watch me get tortured? Lilith was enjoying this and somewhere deep inside of me, I wondered if my mother was enjoying seeing me squirm beneath Lilith's powerful body. It wouldn't surprise me any; with the way she's been treating me lately. I was hoping, praying against my own knowledge that my mother and family would show up to try and help me. I needed them more than I ever did and I was frantically scanning the graveyard, searching for any sign of my sister and brother. Lilith was laughing at me, loving the pain that I was going through. Her eyes swept across my body, as if she was trying to figure out what to do to me next. She opened her hand and there was a bright white light. A second later, my leg was burning. It felt like my leg was on fire. I finally couldn't hold my tongue and I screamed in pain._

"_I will make your life a living hell," she closed her palm and threw her elbow into my face. She cupped my face in her hands, examining it, before punching me hard, breaking my nose. Then I saw him. Dan was sneaking up behind her. I had to keep Lilith's attention on me. I raised my head and stared straight into her eyes. She glared back at me, her eyes sparkling with cruelty. She was no longer smiling. Her mouth was twisted in hatred. She threw another punch, opening a gash above my eye. Before leaning in close "You'll make a deal when I'm done with you, you little -" she froze and then whipped around, twisting her hand. _

"_NO!" I screeched as my brother fell to the ground, his neck snapped. I knew he was dead. Terror washed over me. I was supposed to die, not them! My pain was forgotten. Everything was going wrong. Bree froze where she was, eyes wide in shock. She looked down at Dan's body, and then looked at me. She looked defeated._

"_Bree, run!" I screamed but it was too late. Lilith threw the knife, and it hit her in the chest. I saw her double over and fall to the ground next to Dan. For a minute my horror was gone, and I was filled with rage. Lilith was distracted and I could finally move. I stood up, but I couldn't put any weight on my right leg. I tackled Lilith from behind, but it wasn't much of a contest. She grabbed the gun out of my pocket before kicking me in the chest, sending me flying backwards. This time I wasn't as lucky and I cracked my head against one of the many gravestones. For a brief second everything turned black. _

"_Tala, what have you done?" My mom's voice came from somewhere behind me. I turned around. She was crouching behind one of the trees over to the side; holding the knife, "Kill her!" I whispered. I didn't even try to say that she was wrong. I didn't even challenge her for taking so long to get over here. This was my fault. I shouldn't have let my mom bring us here. It was a mistake that I would have to live with. Lilith had turned her attention back to me. I tried to scramble to my feet, but my right leg gave out on me. Lilith grabbed me and shoved me against the stone that I had hit my head on. She opened her palm again and my shoulder started to burn. _

_Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my mom. She was clenching the knife in her hand and sneaking up behind Lilith. Though she was busy torturing me, I knew that my mom would never get close enough to kill Lilith. But for some reason, I just sat there. I let her approach Lilith, and I hardly even flinched when Lilith pulled out my gun and shot her in the head. And just like that, I was alone. My entire family was gone._

* * *

_I don't know why Lilith didn't make another move at me. Instead she just watched coldly as I stood up and limped over to Dan and Bree. I gently pulled my knife out of Bree's chest and tossed it to the side. I was supposed to protect them! And I had failed. I hugged Bree's body close to mine, crying, "I'm sorry," I sobbed, "I should have kept you safe!" I set her down and turned to Dan's body and I clenched his hand tightly, "You said everything was going to be okay." I whimpered, "But it's not, because you're gone." I closed my eyes tightly, hoping and praying that this was all just my imagination. But I knew it wasn't. And, I knew what I had to do._

"_You've got your deal, Lilith." I whispered looking up at her. She had been watching the scene before her with that evil smile. "Bring them back, both of them. And you give me my ten years."_

"_No." I froze and looked at her; she gave me that twisted smile and walked up to me. "Why should I give you any time?"_

"_You said my soul was priceless." I gasped. I looked at my siblings. I needed to save them. "Five years?"_

"_Five months." She countered. I clenched my fists at my side. I couldn't keep this standoff going for long. If I wasn't careful, she was going to kill me right after I made this deal._

"_Three years?" I tried, but I could see her shaking her head. "Fine. You bring back my brother and sister. You don't kill me and after the deal is made you leave here. And give me one year. That's all I'm asking for. Two lives for the priceless soul. Do we have a deal?"_

"_Interesting," she walked around me and looked me up and down, "Give me the knife and we have a deal. Oh, and just as a special treat, I'll go ahead and bring back Mommy too."_

_It was my turn to shake my head, "No, you're not bringing her back. She can rot for all I care." I was surprised at the hatred in my voice. "You get my soul and the knife; I get Dan and Bree back and one year. That's the deal."_

"_Perfect." Smiling she leaned in and kissed me, sealing the deal. And then she was gone a split second later. Just like that._

_I heard a gasp over to my left. Dan was sitting up looking at his hands and then he looked at me. Bree started coughing and I saw her sit up, looking down at the hole in her shirt and the blood surrounding it. They both stared at me, but I wasn't going to explain. I walked straight over to them and pulled them both into a hug. I had kept my promise. They were safe. I was never going to let anyone hurt them again._


	6. Black

The door unlocked, and my brother came rushing in, forgetting to close the door behind him. "I found one!" He was holding a folder in his hand and he dropped it on the counter. He rushed back over and locked the door before looking at me with a bright smile, "I got your demon case."

I sat bolt upright. I was lying on the couch reading a book when he had walked in. I had just gotten back from the gym and I had been bored out of my mind. When Dan came in, I couldn't believe my ears. "You're kidding me." I gasped in shock, jumping to my feet and running to the kitchen. I grabbed the folder and started leafing through it.

"It's got all the signs: the slit throats of the victims, sulfur found at the scene, there have been many unusual thunderstorms in the area, the whole nine yards." He told me. I shouldn't be this happy about a few slit throats, but I was ready to go. I had only done two spirit cases and dealt with a vampire nest since I had come back, and it had been two and a half months. I had been searching like crazy for a demon case, but nothing came up. After two months Dan was tired of hearing me complain about how boring spirits were, so he joined in to help me search. Of course he would be the one to find a case. I was horrible at research. Usually I sat down for ten minutes before going outside for target practice or running to the gym to lift.

I started darting around the room, gathering my things. Over the past months, I had been staying with my brother. I had visited Bree a couple more times but I enjoyed staying with Dan. We were very much alike with our personalities, and he also knew the whole truth about me. Sure Bree knew that I was a skin-walker, but she didn't know about my time in hell, or what happened to get me there. She didn't want to hear about it, and I never offered to tell her. Dan, he knew everything. He knew about Lilith, about my deal, about my refusal to save our mother. He knew my personality. He knew the side of me that Bree had never seen. I wasn't the protective big sister around Dan. I was still protective, but we defended each other. It was just different. And there was no way I was going to live at my old house. I had visited there a few times as well to see my grandparents and Eclipse, but the memories were too dark. So, Dan's apartment it was. Even though it wasn't a house, it felt like home.

"Don't you want to know where you're going?" Dan yelled at me as I dashed into the bathroom.

I poked my head out from behind the door, "Where?"

"Waco, Texas." He replied. I nodded curtly and slipped back behind the door to grab my things. Dan swept on telling me more about the location. "It's pretty run down over there, not usually a lot of crime but there's a lot of abandoned buildings. I'm betting the demon is holing up in one of those."

"Sounds like a blast!" I said back. Usually, I was being sarcastic, but this time I meant it. I was ready for a good fight. I mean, so far I hadn't even gotten a scratch. The worst thing that had happened to me was with my spirit case when I had the rope around my neck. But still, I was ready for an actual fight, something to get my adrenaline pumping.

Dan smiled at me and then shook his head. "You're insane." He said, laughing. And then he helped me pack up. Twenty minutes later, all of my stuff was together. I was ready to go. Before I walked out the door, Dan grabbed my arm and stopped me. "Be careful out there, and call me when you're on the way back!" I looked into his eyes; I was glad that I didn't see any concern. He looked happy for me, proud even.

I jokingly shoved him away with my shoulder. "Hey, I may be rusty but I got this! I'll be fine!" Then I opened the door and walked out. He waved at me as I walked down the steps and I raised my knife to my forehead in a playful salute. I saw him roll his eyes and shake his head before closing the door. I jumped in my car and drove off, ready to send a demon to hell.

* * *

The drive was long and boring. It was early in the morning when I arrived in town after driving through the night. So far there had only been two deaths in Waco. Both were the exact same, with the slit throats and the sulfur at the crime scene. I went straight to the apartment where the second death had occurred. The death had been in the news just yesterday, so hopefully there would still be some cops at the crime scene.

The apartment was long and low. It was only two stories and the building looked to be fairly nice and secure. Of course, the location didn't matter that much. Demons were after chaos and death. They usually didn't have a specific target in mind, which made them challenging to track. Most of the time, demons went after whoever they thought would be "fun" to kill.

The place was still swarming with cops. I had to park my car across the street at a small gas station before I could head over since it was taped off. I grabbed my knife and hooked it on to my shorts. I always felt more comfortable having it with me. And maybe the demon was still around. That would be brilliant if I could solve the case within an hour of arriving in town. Unfortunately, before I could even get across the street, I realized I would have to take a different approach to the case. Two people were already there talking to the cops. They had on suit and tie, and I could see a badge in their hands. Cursing I walked back to my car and extended my hearing to listen in on the conversation.

"….sulfur at the scene?" one of the men asked. What? Why were they asking about sulfur? Maybe they were hunters too? But I couldn't tell from this far away. Of course if something strange had been found at a crime scene, like sulfur, any normal FBI agent should be interested in that. I hoped they weren't. Most hunters tended to get themselves killed whenever I was in town. Then other hunters realized that the girl whose parents both "mysteriously died" was in town. The blame shifted to me, they tried to kill me, I fled the town, and it was always the same story. I shook my head, trying to block my thoughts, and waited for the response from the cop.

"Yes sir. Both crime scenes had sulfur. This killer is a strange one that's for sure." The policeman replied.

The shorter men murmured something to his companion that I didn't catch. Then he turned back to the cop. "And you said everything was locked up? No sign of a break in?"

"That's correct."

The taller companion wrote something down and then glanced back up. "One last question for you, have there been any freak storms lately?"

The policeman gave him a strange look before nodding, "Yes we've had some freak lightning storms over the last couple of weeks. If you'll excuse me agents, I have to go fill out some reports." He turned and walked away and the two agents turned away.

I cut off my hearing. That was all I needed to hear. The police and agents, FBI maybe, had just confirmed what I already knew. I had no interest in checking out the crime scene. I also didn't feel the need to check out the corpses. A slit throat, sulfur, it was so obviously a demon case. It was time to track the demon down and set a trap for it.

* * *

After I checked into a motel, I pulled up a list of abandoned buildings in Waco and then ran to a gas station to buy a map of the small town. For a brief moment, I considered summoning the demon, but I didn't know enough. Unless I knew the demon's name, summoning it would not work. I could try to lure it out, but I would rather not do that. Too many things could go wrong and I wanted to keep my promise to my brother and stay safe. That left one option. Search out the demon myself using my strong senses. It was already late in the evening so I went to bed, eager to start my search in the morning.

When I woke up in the morning, I instantly got on my computer to check the news. I was relieved when I realized that there had been no more deaths. But it was only a matter of time. I had to find this asshole as fast as possible. I marked all the abandoned buildings on the map I had bought and then drove off to get started.

I must have forgotten how hard it is to find a demon. They are extremely good at keeping hidden. I was pretty sure that the demon was hiding out in one of the many abandoned buildings in the town. That's where I would start. The town was small, luckily, but there were so many abandoned buildings. It would take me all afternoon to search through all of them.

I started at a simple abandoned house. Nothing. Then I started moving around town, taking it one block at a time and making sure I hit all the abandoned places. All the houses were clean, no sulfur, no blood, just nothing. The broken down factory was also clean, and I was starting to get frustrated. There had to be an easier way to do this.

Three. Three buildings left on my list. I was on the edge of the town. Two of the places left were farmhouses; the other one was a small motel. For a moment I was scared that I had hit a dead end. I still had yet to see any sign of demonic possession and I had scoured most of the town. I went to the motel first. Nothing. There was nothing at all. I slammed my fist into the wall, punching a large hole in the plaster. I was so frustrated. Why couldn't I find this damn demon?

I got into the car and went toward the nearest farmhouse. It was in the middle of a long field with a "no trespassing" sign set up in the front yard. I drove my car about half a mile past it. It would be easier to walk up to the house that way. I had barely stepped out of the car when I caught a strong whiff of sulfur that almost made me gag. A man had just pulled into the driveway and gotten out of his car. He was about a half mile away, but I didn't care. I snatched some holy water and broke into a run.

He saw me coming. I was still a quarter mile away and he dashed straight inside, slamming the door behind him. I sprinted after him, hoping to be able to trap him in the house. I turned down the gravel driveway, my shoes crunching on the gravel.

"Freeze!" someone yelled behind me. I skidded to a halt, my knife in one hand, and holy water in the other. A policeman was looking at me; he had his Taser in his hands. I realized how bad this must look and quickly tucked my knife back into its leather sheathe.

"Sir, this isn't what it looks like." I began to say but he just raised his Taser higher.

"Weapon on the ground. Now." He yelled out. I scoffed. _Yeah, like that's going to happen. _I thought. I let out a gasp and turned my head sharply to my right. He followed my gaze and I took off running. Cops were so easy to trick. I ran back to my car, jumped in and sped off before he had time to react to the situation.

I hated cops. Hated them. They were so stupid. I was trying to catch a damn demon and he had just gotten in my way. I floored the gas and zoomed down the road to get away from the cop. I would just have to come back to the farmhouse later at night. But I had found him. At least I had found the demon and now trapping him would be so much easier. I would go back around midnight.

* * *

I pulled my car off the road and onto the long and winding driveway that led to the abandoned building. Even though Texas was usually very warm, the warmth never fought off the December chill. I turned the car off and went to my trunk to grab all the supplies I needed. Holy water, and of course my favorite silver knife that had been made using holy water. My dad and I had worked hard on it and it burned demons the same way holy water did, just not as drastically as pure water. I checked to make sure the flask was full and I saw the other car out of the corner of my eye. It was a black impala, old, probably a 60's or 70's model. It was parked farther along the driveway, closer to the house. "Please God." I mumbled softly, slamming my trunk closed with a sigh of exasperation, "Don't let it be idiot teenagers."

I jogged towards the farmhouse, following the scent of sulfur, blood, death and decay. One of my biggest strengths was my enhanced senses, thanks to my skin-walker abilities. I could smell a demon. I had to be close, but I could still smell them. And of course I had enhanced hearing as well. It had always come in handy, but tonight I could smell the two other people as well. The two people were probably the ones who owned the car outside. Then I heard a shout "Stand and fight you black-eyed son of a bitch!" and I knew that the two who came in the impala must be hunters. For a moment I hesitated, dreading running into them. Usually, other hunters thought of me as a monster, which I guess was true, and then they tried to kill me. I hated dealing with it. Then I heard a muffled grunt of pain and I knew I had to keep going or else the two people in there would most likely get themselves killed.

The night was dark, and the farmhouse many years abandoned. The roof had been torn in some places, revealing the inside to the open sky. Not like that would help much. Black clouds covered the moon and plunged the world into pure darkness. Occasionally the light from the moon would creep out from behind the clouds, but it would be swallowed just as quickly. I fixated on the house, trying to judge where the sound was coming from. It didn't really matter though. There was only one door to get in. I wrenched it open and slid inside. The first room was almost pitch black. I was thankful that I could see well in the night and I glanced around trying to follow the sounds. The ground was gravel with roots and plants growing in between to take back what had once been theirs. The noise was coming from the left and I followed it. There was a gaping whole in the wall and I climbed through to find myself in a hallway. Like the first room, it was dark with no opening to the outside world. At the end of the hallway was another doorway and that was where the sounds were coming from. I heard a cry of pain and a loud shout of "Sammy!" I sprinted towards the doorway, trying to be as quiet as I could. I figured the demon would be too intent on the two hunters to notice me sneaking up, but it never hurt to be careful. Right outside the entrance, I crouched down and crept up to the corner. Everything was silent, and there was a brief moment of calm. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and braced myself.

I whipped around the corner just in time to see two people go flying across the room and slam into the wall. I rolled my eyes and curled my lip. _Idiots. _Are there any decent hunters left? I curled my right hand around my flask of holy water, ready for the upcoming fight. My left hand stayed at my side, ready to pull out my knife if it came to that. I took in the scene. The hunters lay in a heap on the floor. The walls were stone and crumbling, the roof half gone to let the moonlight shine through. I was standing in a doorway that had no door. The floor was bare earth and gravel like the rest of the house. There was a hole in the wall; a window had probably been there before the house had gone to ruins. I heard the crunching of stones under boots as the demon strode across the room toward the two men. I was close enough to realize that both of them had been knocked out from the force of hitting the stones of the abandoned farmhouse. The demon currently possessed a smaller man, but he moved quick and graceful like a panther. Black eyes shone in the darkness. He held a smooth and sleek knife; it almost looked delicate. He bent over one of the bodies. I knew what was about to happen and it was time to intervene.

"Hey!" I yelled, trying to draw his attention toward me. Panther was an accurate description of the demon. He came at me with blinding speed, and I had to force myself not to morph into a wolf. It was always such a challenge for me on demon cases to stay human; I was stronger, faster, and more powerful as a wolf. But no one could know, especially not a demon. I pulled out my flask of holy water and flung it at him. He yelled in pain and shook his head, lip curled, black eyes murderous. With a growl he flicked his wrist, and the flask was wrenched out of my hand and flung across the floor. For a brief moment I wondered why he didn't just try to fling me across the room. Then I saw that hungry gleam in his eyes. He wanted to fight.

He came at me again and I pulled out my own knife to defend myself. He slashed wildly and viciously, and he was just as quick as I was. It was rare to find a demon that moved faster than me. He aimed for my throat and I blocked it easily. His next stroke came towards my chest and I caught his knife on the edge of my blade, pushing against it to shove him away from me. He leapt right back into the fray, attacking fiercely. As I dodged a slash that came close to my face, my eyes glanced across the room at my flask. I had to get to it. And there was only one way to do that. He was fast and so was I. When you're evenly matched in one aspect, then you have to use another tactic. "Play to your strengths" my father always told me. And so I did. I took in the situation, analyzed it, and came up with my next move in a split second. I could always outsmart my foes. This was no exception.

It was my turn to go on the attack. I lunged at him, my knife flashing towards his blade to disarm him. I was trying not to kill the host, and that was slowing me down. He bent away from me but my knife still found a mark, opening up a small wound on his forearm. We were both on the attack now. He hacked again and I blocked it pushing it back into his face. His arm trembled as he tried to keep my knife from hitting him in the face. I lifted my other hand to try to overpower him, except I didn't anticipate what was coming next. The demon suddenly twisted and grabbed another knife from his pocket. While my hands were busy holding his fine knife at bay, his left hand snaked with the new weapon, and he struck.

I winced in pain as the knife found my shoulder. The demons face was cruel, a nasty smile on his lips, as he dug it in deep and twisted it sharply. The pain doubled and I forced down the cry of pain that was on the tip of my tongue. Instead, I shouted in rage. I kicked him backwards, and quickly examined the wound. The knife had gone almost to the bone, but nothing was broken. The flesh around it was ragged and blood was pouring out, soaking into my shirt. It was bad, but I'd had worse. And it was my right shoulder. Due to an old injury, I had learned how to fight equally as well with both of my hands. This stab wound wouldn't slow me.

I dove past him, rolling across the ground and coming to my feet right next to my flask. I gripped it tightly and turned back to the demon. Holy water, knock him out, exorcise. Three step plan. But before I could make a move, one of the men on the ground let out a groan of pain. The demon must have realized it was outnumbered. It turned and ran. I threw my knife after him, missing by just an inch as he disappeared through the doorway. Cursing I turned back to stare at the heap of dumbasses whose lives I had just saved. My shoulder throbbed from where the knife had ripped it open. I clasped my hand over it to try to stop the bleeding.

I stood there, holding my pained shoulder, and watched as one of the men scrambled to his feet and lent a hand to help the other one up. He was tall, much taller than me, and strong. Once they were both standing, they turned to look at me, and I could see shock in both their eyes. I focused on the taller one. He had a deep gash along his chest and the side of his head was bleeding from slamming into the wall. His face was smooth, with only a little bit of sideburns covering it. His eyes gleamed in the faint moonlight, his hair blowing slightly in the chilly breeze. I shivered and it had nothing to do with the cold. There was something wrong here. I just couldn't decide what it was.

I turned my attention to the shorter man. He was somehow uninjured. He shook his head as he stood up, as if he was trying to wake himself from a dream. The sweat covered his forehead, making it glisten in the moonlight that shined from behind the dark clouds. I dropped my blood-covered hand to my side, my breath fogging up in the chilly air. My sharp eyes focused on the rugged stubbly features on his face and my heart took a swan dive. I knew that face.

It was as if all the air had been knocked out of my lungs. I inhaled sharply and breathed out his name in horror, "Dean Winchester."


	7. Hell

_**September 6, 2005**_

_I was a reckless dumbass. What a good idea. Let me summon Lilith and try to kill her, that'll end well. Stupid, stupid stupid. Honestly, my idea had been so ridiculous that I deserved to go to hell after that. I just felt like punching something. I saw Lilith hold out her hand, and I could hear the growls from the hellhound, but I didn't care. I was too angry with myself to be scared of what was about to happen. _

_The white light hit me square in the chest. I was launched backwards, slamming into the wall and collapsing on the ground. Gasping, I tried to get up, but a spasm of pain ran through my body. My collarbone had been snapped and my shoulder dislocated. I lay there on my side and just managed to use my left arm to prop my body up. I could hear the snarls and I glared over at Lilith._

_She was bent down, rubbing the vicious hound behind the ears. I was completely helpless and completely furious. How could I have been so stupid? She currently possessed a young girl, only eight or nine years old. I tried to push myself up a second time and let out a cry as the sharp shooting pain shot up my arm. That got her attention._

_"Take your time." She whispered in the creature's ear. I didn't even get a moment to react. The hound was on me in an instant. The force of the impact shattered my left arm and caused my body to collapse on my already injured right arm. Teeth met my leg and dragged me backwards till I was flat on my stomach. I screeched as the claws raked across my back. Then the hellhound bit me again, this time on my side, and dragged me to my back. The floor was slick and red with my own blood. For a moment everything stopped. I stared up into the cruel red eyes and felt the hot breath on my face. Then the razor-like claws dug into my chest. The spray of blood hit me in my face and I couldn't do anything, couldn't say anything. I coughed and choked as I tried desperately to breathe. Blood bubbled in my chest and throat, preventing me from drawing in air. The wet ripping sound of my flesh tearing beneath his claws would be the last thing I ever heard. The sharp, shooting pain would be the last thing I ever felt. Darkness swarmed in front of my eyes and I tried to get rid of it, but it stayed and it grew. As much as I fought, I couldn't escape the darkness coming to take me away and I fell into the black. _

* * *

_A large boom like thunder jarred me awake. I sat up instantly and stared around me. It was pitch black, and try as I might; I couldn't see more than a foot in front of me. A jagged bolt of lightning cut across my vision and I saw chains. Millions of them, and they crossed every which way. I stared intently, waiting for another bolt of lightning so I could see what was out there. Was this hell? It seemed too… simple. I had heard there was fire in the pit… I didn't expect it to be this dark. I don't even know what I had been expecting, but this wasn't it._

_My eyes started to adjust to the dark and I felt a small pull on my ankles. I looked down and saw a shackle had appeared on it. "What the…" I muttered as I turned to inspect it. Instantly, my right arm was yanked back. I tugged at the chain and my left arm was also whipped back by a chain. I gasped, more in shock than from pain, as a hook went deep into my right leg. A second hook came out of the darkness and went into my left side, snapping my ribs. All the chains and hooks pulled tight at once and I was hoisted into the air. I closed my eyes tightly, building up my courage, then snarled into the darkness, "Is that all you got? Show yourselves you cowards!"_

_"Oh I heard you'd be like this. This is going to be so much fun." A cold voice drawled out from somewhere in front of me. I strained my neck, trying to find the location of the voice. From the darkness, out stepped my brother, and for a moment I had to remind myself that it truly wasn't him. The voice wasn't his, neither were the white eyes, but everything else was. "Do you like it? I thought it was fitting." He smiled cruelly._

_I was so furious that I forgot the pain of the hooks that continued to dig into me. "Who are you, you son of a bitch? What do you want?" I spat out the words in fury, focusing on the demons eyes and not the rest of the body. He wasn't Dan. This was a demon. His smile was so cold and he had a gleeful look in his eyes. He had a short rusty blade in his left hand. I gulped. I knew what that was for._

_He stepped closer until he was directly in front of me. "The names Alastair, nice to meet you." He held out his right hand and I curled my lip at him. If he thought he was being funny…. He just smirked and switched the knife over to his right hand. "Not very polite, are we?" I still didn't answer; I just stared at him in fury. "Oh yes, you're still waiting for me to answer your other question, of course. Where are my manners? What do I want? That is a very simple question my dear." He grabbed my chin, his fingers digging into my cheeks. He squeezed his hand so hard, that for a moment, I thought he was going to break my jaw clean in half. He pulled me towards him, causing the hooks to dig deeper into my skin. "I just want to hear you scream, to see you bleed and burn. I want to see your spirit completely broken and shattered. I want to hear you weep." He whispered._

_This was the hell I expected. A shiver ran up my spine as he brought the knife up close to my face. "Let's start nice and simple." He whispered. Then he dug the knife into my cheek and tore upwards towards my eye. He slowed down, cutting deep and slow, causing spasms of pain to run though me. Then he wrenched the knife out. I clenched my teeth together. The demon walked behind me and dug the knife into my back. Slowly he drew it up towards my shoulder. He dug it in deep, making sure that it hit every single rib. I gasped at the white-hot pain from the blade touching bone. He reached my shoulder blade and dug it in viciously, twisting it in a complete circle. I bit my tongue so hard that it started bleeding because I would not scream. I wasn't going to scream for him._

_Alastair continued to slowly carve into me. He made sure the knife dug deep into my skin, and into muscles, until it touched bone. Then he would deliberately drag it, one way or another, before wrenching it out and starting over. Everything was getting fuzzy around me. I should be dead, but this was hell, and I couldn't die down here. Or could I? Alastair scratched the knife over bone and opened up the muscle to reveal nerve endings. He then tapped the nerves with the knife, sending a sharp spasm running through my entire body. It was like a pain I had never felt before. It was like a deep shock, sharp, shooting and aching all at once. He shoved the knife into my chest, right above my heart, and leaned in close again. "One thing, before I leave you to heal." His white eyes bored into mine. "Do you want to get off the rack?"_

_He was fuzzy and my vision kept slipping in and out. I was hardly conscious at this point. Did he really say that? "Wait, what?" I managed to stammer out._

_"It's a deal, my sweetheart. You can get off the rack. No more torture, never again, so long as you agree to help me. Pick up my knife and torture souls. Trust me you'll enjoy it."_

_I somehow managed to laugh at him. "You're insane. I won't break until hell freezes over." I sneered._

_"Oh you'll break. Everyone does." Then he shoved the knife down into my heart. I closed my eyes, even before I went unconscious, welcoming the healing and welcoming my dreams._

* * *

_I first screamed when he set me on fire and let me burn to nothing. After that, I stopped trying. If it hurt I screamed. That was the end of it. The worst part was that I remembered everything. Every last second. I could tell you what happened on day ten, day one hundred, day one thousand, and so on and so forth. I shouldn't be able to remember it all, but I somehow did. It must be like a curse from hell, to remember all of it. I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I had been down here one hundred years. I was sure Alastair had some special torture planned for me. He had decided on my "one year anniversary" to give me an injection that caused me to hallucinate about my siblings being tortured. Then my "ten year anniversary" he thought it would be fun to break every single bone in my body. I could only imagine what he had planned for my one hundred year anniversary…._

_I closed my eyes when I heard the whistling, wanting to block it all out. I wish I could go back to my dreams, but that never happened. Once you were awake, you stayed awake until your soul was completely destroyed. I tried to relax, which isn't easy when you're chained up. The whistling stopped and I knew he was right in front of me. not only could I smell him, and sense him, but I could also smell his breath, which smelled like dead, rotting flesh. "Come on Tala, I know you're awake, don't make me force those pretty eyes open." He sang. I slowly opened my eyes, remembering the last time, when he had cut off my eyelids. I was not eager to go through that again._

_He looked way too happy. He always did, with his nasty smile, and those wicked white eyes. I noticed that he didn't have his normal cart; I could see knobs and lights on a simple black cart. It looked almost like a giant computer. "I got you a gift for your hundredth hell-day!" he said, as he pulled out a large metal ring with wires and pins attached to it._

_"It's all right, I don't need any gifts. Just being down here is enough for me." I said, giving him my usual sarcastic smile. He wasn't buying it though. I was terrified, and he knew it._

_"It's a crown!" he exclaimed shoving the metal ring on my head. I gasped in pain as he starting shoving the pins into my head, holding his so-called crown in place. Blood dripped into my eyes, blurring my vision. "Don't worry!" I heard his voce come from behind me, and I flinched as another pin went into the back of my head, "I have bracelets for you too!" he grabbed more of the rings and started to attach them to me. There was one on each shoulder, two for my wrists, one on each knee and each ankle, and one that went around my waist like a belt. The slightest movement caused the pins to dig in deeper to my skin. The pins were also barbed and they tore at my flesh, causing me to let out little whimpers of pain at the slightest movement._

_"And that's not all! Here's the fun part!" I stared at him in horror as he flicked a switch on the cart. Everything started buzzing and just a moment later, electricity was running through my body. Spasms of pain shot through my muscles, and I could feel the electricity vibrating down to my bones. He turned a dial and I let out a screech as the feeling intensified. I was struggling to get out of the metal traps. I didn't realize that I was tearing my skin to the bone in my desperate attempts to be free of the current running through me._

_Tsk, tsk, tsk. Alastair was shaking his head at me, a deep frown on his face. "I thought we learned by now not to struggle?" The current got stronger and I clenched my jaw as tears ran down my face. Then I felt a blinding pain in my leg. The torturer had just taken his knife and sliced my Achilles tendon in half. Then he did the same with my right leg. I just screamed, the pain was too much, but I knew he wasn't finished yet._

_He went back over and flicked on a different switch. Now all of the pins and the metal were both red hot, burning me. If he wanted to hear me scream, he was succeeding. Alastair continued to play with the dials, turning the heat on and off, and alternating the electric current running through. Then he put it all together, and I started weeping, great loud sobs of pain as the shocks spread through my body and the heat of the metal melted my skin. And for a brief moment, I considered accepting his offer._

_I never got a chance. The metal suddenly exploded in a burst of heat and light and my body was on fire. It consumed my soul, slowly burning me into nothing. Right before my soul was destroyed, I felt a huge wave of shame. I had almost been ready to give in. I couldn't allow myself to think like that. Never again. I had to be strong. I would not break. I would only get off the rack if I could torture Alastair. And one day, that was exactly what I was going to do._

* * *

_Two hundred and five years. Year after year had passed me by. Pain was all I knew. There was nothing else and there had never been anything else. All I ever heard was the screams of other souls, and the taunts of Alistair as he carved in new ways and found new methods to hear my cries. My whole world had become an endless cycle of chains and demons, blood and despair, and fire. There was so much fire, my worst fear. But they hadn't broken me yet. And they were never going to. I had too much to hold on to._

_Chains held me up. They were sharp and dug into my wrists. I had to pull myself up to take a breath. I wasn't sure if you needed to breath in hell, I was already dead. But I had to pull myself up. I had to keep breathing. I was exhausted from it, and the chains had cut so deep into my wrists that they almost hit bone. Alaister was on what he called a "teaching break." He would torture me for some time, until my soul was nearly destroyed, then he would take a break. I had no idea what he was doing when he left me dangling there on the rack. And I didn't care to find out._

_I heard the squeaking of wheels and a shudder ran through my spine. My soul was almost destroyed; he couldn't do much more to me today. A small relief I guess. The harsh sound came closer, and there he was, the king of torture himself. He was pushing the cart towards me, full of so many torture instruments that I could only name a third of the items on the cart. And that's when it happened. At first I thought it to be a simple explosion from the pit itself. But this was different. A clinking, a loud bang, then the burst of light, silvery, where the rest of hell was storm and fire. And I could smell it. Fresh air._

_Black swarmed past me. There was so much darkness heading towards the light. The chains that had been holding me up disappeared in thin air and I collapsed on the ground. Pain lanced through me and for a moment I was too shocked to move. I heard alarms go off and demons were everywhere. It was pure chaos, and I instantly felt a surge of strength run through me. I thrived in chaos. Quickly I glanced around and saw a couple of instruments that had fallen off of Alastair's cart in the confusion. I settled on a rusty knife and tucked it in my pocket. Slinking into the shadows, I checked my surroundings then fixed my eyes on the target: The two open doors hundreds of feet up in the air._

_Right before I started to sprint away, I considered turning into a wolf. I could be there so much faster… I shook my head. Nobody can know. I was going to get out I knew it. If I revealed my secret, then I would be back in the pit and they would have new and better ways to torture me. No. It was better to not risk it. I took off running, my soul healing itself, and caught my first real glimpse of the outside world. It was so high up, such a hard climb to get to it. But I saw it, I saw the black sky, the silver moon, the stars… oh how much I missed the stars! I could smell grass and dirt and trees. Freedom was right above me. I heard shouts behind me, and a few demons were running around trying to catch the escaping souls. However, most of the demons were intent on getting out of hell. I could see them launching up the wall and turning into smoke as they swooped through the open door. And above all, I heard the booming voice of Alistair screaming out a command, "STOP JOHN AND TALA, IF THEY ESCAPE I'LL THROW YOU ALL ON THE RACK!"_

_I ducked into a shadow and then I started to climb. Up to the gaping doors, towards my freedom. Demons zoomed past me into the world above. I glimpsed other souls climbing as well, each one scrambling to get out of the pit. I pulled myself closer and closer to the edge. For a brief moment, I let myself hope. I might make it._

_A flash of black, a scream of rage. The demons that had just zoomed by me had grabbed on to one of the souls. Then a second and a third demon arrived. Then a fourth. The soul struggled to cling to the wall of the pit as the demons started to drag him down back to the fire below. Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to keep climbing. For all I knew that soul belonged down here. It could be a rapist, a murderer, a thief. Why weren't the demons attacking other souls? Why that one? John the name rang on my lips, and the soul snapped his head towards me, his mouth opened in a wordless cry for help as a fifth demon joined the struggle. It was John. I didn't know why he was so important, or why Alastair didn't want him to escape, but I had to help him. I glanced up at the doors. There was still time._

_He had been dragged about fifty feet below me. I positioned myself above him and then pushed off with all my might. As I fell, I reached out my hand and grabbed one of the demons, pulling myself back against the wall. Working together, John and I beat back three of them. I turned my attention to the fourth and fifth demon and pulled the rusty knife out of my pocket. John was weaponless, weak and exhausted. I could tell he couldn't keep fighting. For the first time in over two hundred years I felt alive._

_"GO!" I cried. John shook his head and I gave him a sharp shove with my shoulder, "I'll catch up!" I said. He hesitated for a moment longer but he started to climb. I stabbed one demon in the back and twisted him around trying to turn demon on demon. I yanked the knife out and plunged it into the other's throat. I clung on the rock with one hand and used my feet to shove him down. I watched in satisfaction as he tumbled back into the pit and I lost sight of him. The other demon had disappeared. Maybe he had run away when he realized the fight was lost._

_John had made it to the doors. He looked down at me. I gave him a slight nod and he returned it with a sad look. Then he grabbed the edge of the doors and swung his body into the world. I lost sight of him. He was free. Now it was my turn._

_The demon hit me so hard that I couldn't react fast enough. The force of the impact knocked me off the wall and I felt myself falling. All the way down. I clawed at the air, trying desperately to find something, anything to hold onto. Then the impact. I landed on the hard ground, and my soul started healing instantly. I pushed away my despair and instead summoned an icy determination that filled me up. The demon that had knocked me over the edge was nowhere to be seen. I could do this. I could climb this wall in time._

_I gripped the rock tightly with my hands and started my ascent once more. For a scary moment, the doors started to close. Then they sprang back open again. My heart pounded in my chest and I began to feel whole again. It was the earth welcoming me back. I could see the clouds in the sky as I climbed but I focused my attention on the stars and the moon, drawing strength from them. Closer and closer. Four hundred feet. Three hundred feet. Two hundred. One hundred. I was fifty feet away. I had never felt this strong in my life. I was there. I was so close. I could taste my freedom. For a moment, I almost let myself smile._

_Bang! The darkness overwhelmed me and the wall disappeared from underneath me. I felt myself falling, falling into nothing. "No. No. NO!" I screamed as I fell. Once again, I hit the ground, the impact shattering me in more ways than one. It was so much worse. Fifty feet. I just lay there, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The sweet smell of fresh air was gone. So were the stars. They had disappeared as well. I was shocked. I sat there staring at nothing. Despair filled me up and I was drowning in it. I was lost, broken; there was no such thing as hope. Why did I even exist? I couldn't even cry or scream. I was just dead completely. That was the cruelest torture of all. Being so close, and failing to escape._

_Alastair found me there, frozen, staring and shattered. He grabbed me by the throat and slammed me up against a rock. I don't know where the rock came from, but it was burning hot and it had appeared out of nowhere. "Thought you could escape?" he hissed in my ear, his claws digging into my neck. "You'll pay for this you bitch. I'll make sure of that."_

* * *

_I leaned back on the cold rock, soaking in the sun. The air was beautiful and cold, but the sun was warm on my face. Hundreds of feet below me, the river carved its way through the mountains. I smiled and turned my back on the river, towards the cliff face. I was almost to the top. I checked to make sure that everything was secure before I started climbing again. My muscles ached and I was out of breath, but I wasn't going to quit when I was this close to the top. I couldn't wait to see the view!_

_I don't know what shook me awake, but now that I was, I slowly opened my eyes, bracing myself for those white eyes, the unsettling, nerve-wracking eyes that stared straight into my soul. But that wasn't the sight that greeted me. Instead, I found myself staring into beautiful green eyes that seemed to settle my fears, to stop my heart in an instant. I held my breath, wondering what was going to happen next. Did I finally get out?_

_A flash of lightning, and a distant scream jarred me back to reality. Wait a minute, green eyes? "What the hell?" I gasped out. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust from the daylight in my dreams, to the dim light of my waking world. I stared at those green eyes, and looked at the person that they belonged to. Tall, muscular, handsome, young. He looked like a hero. What was a person like that doing in a place like this?_

_For a brief moment, I was relieved. For 353 years, I had been jarred from my dreams to see those cruel white eyes staring back at me. Alastair wasn't going to torture me today. Whoever this new kid was, there was no way he was worse than Alastair. Alastair had made me pay. After the gates were closed, he made sure that I had learned my lesson. If I were being honest with myself, I would hesitate to try and escape if the gates opened a second time. Mostly because of what he had done; the way he had made me pay… He had thrown me into the fire for weeks straight, even years. Constant burning… my soul had healed itself automatically, but the burning sensation? That never left, and it never eased. The heat, the smoke, and the smell of burning flesh… it hurt more and more-and got worse and worse- with each passing hour. Alistair had stopped taunting me, stopped making me that offer. He was too furious, and he had made me scream so much in those years. I had cried-begged even-out for him to stop, and I wasn't proud of it._

_"Tala, meet Dean Winchester. He has shown enormous promise, and you two are going to get along famously." Alastair had slipped up behind green-eyes, and placed his hand on the boy's back. "He's almost as good as I am, and he puts a little bit of human flair into his torture. I'll leave it to you then. Have fun." He slipped back into the shadows, leaving me alone with Dean._

_I could truly see Dean now, and his beautiful green eyes didn't look so beautiful anymore. They looked brutal and unforgiving. "Dean…" I said hesitantly. Maybe I could convince him that this was wrong. He flicked the syringe, letting out a little bit of a cloudy liquid. I definitely did not want to know what was in there. "You're the one the demons have been waiting for aren't you?" Silence. I swept on, still trying. "I can tell you're a good guy, and I know you're a hunter. I'm sorry you ended up here, but this is not the way to go. Just listen to me. Please. You're better than this."_

_He set down the syringe, walked over, and stabbed me in the stomach. The blade he had was long and slender, and burning hot. It felt like he had just pulled the blade straight from the fires of hell. I gasped in pain and he twisted the blade before dragging it up towards my chest. He twisted it again and I let out a sharp cry. Hatred boiled up inside of me for this man. As soon as he yanked the blade out, I sneered up at him. "You're worse than Alastair. You're the soul that they've been waiting for? You deserve to be down here you son of a bitch. You deserve to be the one on this rack, not me. You're just a sorry excuse for a human, a sorry excuse for a hunter. I hope you become a demon. And everyone you love, hunts you down, and destroys you." I spat at him._

_Dean froze where he was at the cart. He picked something up and whipped towards me. His candy apple green eyes seemed out of place on his dark face. Dean stopped right in front of me and grabbed my jaw in his hands, the same way Alastair did. The vicious light was still in his eyes, and his face was twisted with something that resembled hatred. The worst was the smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. He enjoyed this. "Why don't you shut up?" He snarled at me, stabbing the needle into my neck._

_It took only five seconds for the effects. I had no idea what the liquid was, but it was horrible. My whole body instantly felt like it was on burning from the inside out; it was as if I was being burned alive from the inside out. I struggled for air; my trachea seemed to be squeezed tight, not allowing me to breathe in. as I pulled on the chains, trying desperately to break free, to get away from him, I noticed him sitting there, just watching. He was smiling. He rose and leaned on my shoulder, "Are we having fun yet?" he whispered to me._

_"Burn in hell" I hissed back. His fist came flying at me, slamming into my face so hard that it cracked my cheekbone._

_He grabbed my hair, yanking my head back and forcing me to look at him. "Already did that." He jeered, "But I'm here now, and I'm just getting started."_

_Seven years. I had him for seven years before he vanished and Alastair came back. Dean was nearly as good as Alastair and he did bring his human flair… Alastair loved slicing and dicing and Dean loved his precious poisons. He always enjoyed destroying me from the inside. I asked Alastair one day what happened to Dean, and he didn't answer. I could tell he was furious about it. My only guess was that he had gotten out. There was one thing that Dean did for me. He had brought back my fighting spirit, along with a thirst for revenge. The hunter didn't deserve to be free, and if I ever got out of hell, he would be number one on my kill list._


	8. Puzzle

Dean frowned at me. "What did you just say?" he said slowly, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

He didn't recognize me. I didn't know whether I should be angry or relieved. He should remember… I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to hide my disgust. "Nothing. Just, is your partner okay?" I stammered out.

Dean turned to look at the taller guy and then turned back to me. "Yeah, he's fine. I'm Dean Winchester, and this is my brother Sammy."

"It's Sam." The taller guy snapped back. Dean rolled his eyes and then glanced at my shoulder in concern. I tried not to scoff. The last time I had seen this man his face had been twisted in a cruel smile.

His voice cut into my thoughts, "You should get that shoulder patched up." He stepped forward, and I instantly stepped back, my hand instinctively curling around my knife. I wasn't going to let him anywhere near me.

"I'm fine." I snapped back. I was furious. I hated him more than anyone on the planet. Why was he allowed to leave hell? He didn't deserve it. "Leave me alone, I said I'm fine." I repeated. They continued to stare at me, so I took the initiative. I whipped around and stormed out of the room, heading back towards my car. I grabbed out my second knife, simple steel, and kept it in my hand.

"Hey, wait!" Dean yelled behind me. I picked up my pace, walking as fast as I could. "Listen, we just want to talk."

I turned on my heel and noticed that both of the hunters were ducking through the hole in the wall to be in the same room as me. I curled my lip in fury and threw the steel straight at Dean. It hit the wall about two inches from his face. Both of them froze and Dean slowly turned his head to the knife, then back towards me. "I said, leave. Me. Alone." I growled out the words. Then I walked back out the door and into the cool night air, not bothering to retrieve my weapon.

I started across the yard back to my car, trying to resist the urge to keep my promise to Dean. I couldn't believe it. Out of all the people to run into, I had to run into _him. _I wanted him dead, and I wished for that all the time. He didn't deserve to leave hell. I did. And yet he still got out before me. The worst part was that he had no idea who I was. He should know! He had spent seven -_seven- _years torturing me. If he didn't remember that, then that made him even crueler. He had just been blindly slicing into me. I balled my hands into fists, imagining how good it would feel to slam my knuckles into his face.

"You shouldn't have done that." A voice said from behind me. I jumped and swiveled my head around, expecting the worst. It took me a minute to recognize the woman standing behind me. She looked disappointed, and her blue eyes bored into me. She looked the same as the first time that I had met her, with a white dress and long blonde hair.

"Sophie." I said respectfully. It was the first time I had seen her since I had been pulled from hell. "I shouldn't have done what?" I asked slowly.

"Sofiel." She corrected, walking towards me. "And you know what you did. Throwing that knife at the Winchester's."

I rolled my eyes, scoffing as I shifted my weight onto one foot and crossed my arms over my chest. "I shouldn't have thrown that knife? One, they were following me even after I'd told them to leave me alone. And secondly, that was Dean fucken Winchester. You know that asshole that tortured me in hell? Oh, and get this! He doesn't even remember what he did! He spent seven years torturing me, Sophie. SEVEN. And what? You expect me to forget that as easily as he has? You expect me to forgive that?"

Sofiel blatantly ignored me when I called her Sophie. I hoped she got used to it soon. Sofiel was too complicated. I was always going to call her Sophie. She looked right at me, silently judging me. I squirmed lightly, uncomfortable under the close scrutiny. I knew how powerful angels were…. Finally, after what seemed like minutes, or even hours, she spoke. "You need to apologize."

"You want me to apologize?" I laughed and looked away from her, hiding my face. I'm guessing she would not be pleased to see the hungry gleam in my eyes. I wanted my revenge. It was just ridiculous, the notion hat I should be nice and work well with someone I despised. I looked down at my fists then whipped back around to Sophie. "If you think that he deserves…" I broke off suddenly. She was no longer there. She had just disappeared into thin air. "Damn it!" I snarled. But I knew I had to do what she said. Pissing off an angel was not on my to-do list.

I leaned back on my car and waited for the two boys to come out of the building. It seemed to take forever, but they finally came out and made their way towards the impala. Sam noticed me first and he instantly froze, getting defensive. "Hey boys." I said coolly walking over to them. "Change of plans. We should probably work together. Also." I held my hand out, "Can I have my knife back?" I tried not to curl my lip at them. I couldn't look at Dean without seeing the twisted cruel man I knew from hell. And then there was Sam; the demon smell seemed to follow him around. And I was starting to get an idea of what was wrong with him. Or more accurately, what he had inside of him.

Dean's hand crept to his pocket, and then he froze. "You just threw said knife at my face. I think we'll hold on to It." he spoke slowly, cautiously; as if he was worried I was going to throw another knife at him. "You just tried to kill me and now you want to work with us? Am I missing something?"

I gave him a glare of exasperation. "Please, if I was aiming to kill, I wouldn't have missed. That was just a warning shot. And let's just say I had a change of heart. Anyway, knife?" I implored again, gesturing with my fingers.

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly pulled it out of his pocket and started to give it to me, but Sam stopped him. "Dean" he warned under his breath. He grabbed his brother and leaned in close whispering to him. "We can't trust her. I don't care if she just saved our lives. She just tried to end yours. Don't give her the knife."

"You know I can hear you right?" I snapped. "Seriously I have another knife on me, I could have killed you ten times while we've been standing here. Let's be adults and just work together, kill this demon, and then we go our separate ways, the sooner we get started, the sooner we get to leave and completely ignore each other for the rest of our lives."

Dean slapped the knife in my hand, "Promise not to stab us?" he said curtly, I just nodded, my skin crawling with disgust at the touch of his skin. "All right then." he let go of the knife and I instantly snatched my hand back, tucking the cold steel back into my coat. Dean looked slightly confused, probably wondering why I had snatched away so fast. Then he just shrugged it off and held out his hand. "Well you already know our names, so what's your name?"

I ignored his hand and after a moment, he dropped it back to his side. He probably thought I was the rudest person on the planet, and I was okay with that. "The name's Tala." I watched Dean closely for any sort of reaction, but there was nothing. What a dumbass. I continued on, "I'll follow you back to your motel and we can figure out or next plan of action." They both muttered in agreement. For a few moments there was just silence. It felt like we were in a standoff, and neither of us wanted to make the first move. I couldn't let it get out of hand. I had to at least try to make this work. I just had to focus on the task at hand. Turning on my heel, I headed back to my car and waited for them. Then I followed the two hunters back to their motel. _Three monsters together hunting a demon_. I thought sarcastically. _This will definitely end well._

* * *

"You're kidding me right?" I muttered as I drove into the motel parking lot. The Winchester's had been staying at the same motel as I was. I drove past them to park my car closer to my room. Then I got out and walked across the parking lot to join them. I had my knife, my phone, and my keys with me, but I had left everything else out in my car. I figured bringing in a gun wouldn't send the right message.

It was around six in the morning and I was definitely ready to get some shut-eye. The sun was going to be coming up soon. The brothers didn't look that tired, but I didn't question it. I shifted impatiently from foot to foot as Dean fumbled with the keys. Finally the door opened and he and Sam walked in, not bothering to hold the door open for me. "Idiots" I mumbled as I followed them into their room. Dean plopped down on one of the chairs, and I instantly cut in front of Sam to claim the second chair in the room. I propped my feet up on the table then turned and raised my eyebrows at Dean, "So, let's get started."

Sam was looking at me, open-mouthed. Then he clamped his jaw shut and sat on the bed. He was clearly sulking that he didn't get the desk to write on. I crossed my arms and leaned back in the chair, waiting for someone to come up with an idea.

"I say we just use the knife on the damn demon." Dean suggested. "Trap it, and then stab it. Simple." I turned my gaze to Sam, and noticed that he was nodding in agreement.

"What? Wait, wait, wait. Slow down. No, just stop. First of all, how are you planning on finding it? How are you planning on trapping it, it clearly got out of your last devil's trap, yes Sam I did notice that." I snapped as Sam opened his mouth to interrupt me, then I swept on, "And then the million dollar question, what knife?"

The boys exchanged a glance, and then Dean pulled out a blade with a jagged edge. It was curved at the end, and the handle was wooden. Even from across the room, I could see the symbols engraved on it. Slowly, recognition dawned on my face and I briefly froze. Then I dropped my feet off the table and leaned forward, staring intently at the knife. Slowly, I drew my gaze away from the blade and up to his eyes.

"Where did you get that?" I said in a hushed voice. I knew Lilith was still alive, so they didn't get it from her. What game was she playing at? I tried to connect the dots, she had made certain that the knife was part of my deal; there was a hidden agenda here. I stared intently at Dean, for once not threatening; I needed to know where they got the knife.

"It doesn't matter." This time it was Sam who answered my question. He seemed anxious to change the subject, and it was getting late, so I didn't feel like pushing it. at least not yet. But that knife… something was wrong here. I was certain that they were working for someone without even knowing it.

"Fine. Whatever." I snorted out, holding my hands up to stop Sam before he could get all defensive. "I have a plan, not the best, but it's something. One of us goes in and lures the demon into a room, where the other two will be waiting. Then we stab it and be done. It must know a lot of incantations and ways to get out of traps, so that won't work. It's best to just approach it and fight it off with the knife."

"That works for me." Dean said, and Sam mumbled an agreement. "Which one of us is going to lure it in?"

I smirked up at him, "You seem like such a friendly, outgoing guy. I think you'll do perfectly."

"And why not you?" Sam retorted.

"Hmmmmm let me think." I drawled out sarcastically, "I've known you for like two hours. No offense, but I'm not sure I'm ready to put my life in your hands. But you two have been working together for such a long time now that I'm just going to assume that you trust each other with your lives yes?"

Dean shrugged, "Can't argue with that. That sounds like a solid plan, let's go this evening and end It." he suddenly turned to me and held out his phone. My hand twitched towards my knife, but I forced myself to remain calm. Just one case. I just had to work with him on this one case. That was all. I could do this. "Can you give me your number, and we'll call you this afternoon?"

I stood up slowly, and gingerly grabbed the phone, making sure that I didn't touch his skin. Then I slapped my phone on the table. He got the message and picked it up putting his contact number in. as soon as we finished exchanging contact numbers, I checked my pockets to make sure I had everything I came in with. I didn't bother to grab Sam's number before I left; I didn't need it. I didn't say goodbye either, I swept out the door, eager to get some breakfast

* * *

I woke up suddenly as my phone rang. I hadn't gotten to sleep until almost noon, since I had been on the phone with my brother filling him in on everything. he had been shocked to hear that it was the same Dean. Unfortunately, he also agreed with Sofiel, and told me that I shouldn't kill him. The ringing continued and I rolled over and looked at the clock, checking the time. It was around five in the afternoon. Only five hours of sleep. "Come on." I complained as I reached for my phone. The name on the phone flashed "Douchebag Asshole". I sighed and picked it up. "What do you want?" I snapped into it, none to happy to be woken from my sleep.

When I answered the phone, I could tell Dean was a little taken aback by how rude I sounded. He stammered slightly before pausing and collecting himself. "We're getting everything together for tonight. Are you ready to go?"

I sighed deeply as I clenched the phone in my hand. I wanted so badly to snap back at him, to hang up and just go back to sleep, but I had agreed to work with them, to help defeat the demon. I couldn't back down now, not after I'd searched so long for a demon case. I sighed again, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "Yeah, I'm ready, I'll be over there in five minutes." I said, yawning. Then I hung up the phone and re-did my hair to keep it out of my face. I grabbed all of my things and walked out of the room, locking the door behind me.

As I walked across the parking lot to their room, I had the urge to drive off and take care of the case by myself. It would be so easy to do that, but I remember what Sofiel, and Dan had told me. I may as well stick it out for just a couple more hours. Then I would be back on my own, how I liked it. I reached the door and knocked on it, my hand automatically creeping towards my knife.

The door opened and I was looking at Sam. Or rather, at his chest, he was so damn tall. Once again, that smell hit me. It wasn't strong enough for him to be possessed by a demon, which could only mean one thing. I shook my head and brushed past him, debating how I should I bring it up. "We all ready?" Dean asked walking over. I didn't say anything. I was still too tired to be my normal rude bitch-self. Instead I just nodded, waiting patiently for my opportunity. "All right then. Let's go. Sammy, grab the bag will you?"

Dean walked out the door and Sam turned to follow, swinging the bag over his shoulder, but I grabbed his wrist and yanked him back. His eyebrows furrowed together and he glared at me, clearly wondering what I was up to. I returned his glare with a determined look of my own. I figured it was best to come right out and say it. "Does your brother know?" I whispered urgently.

Sam jerked his hand back to his side and snapped out a response, "I don't know what you're talking about."

I sighed deeply, my jaw clenching, "The demon blood Sam. I'm not an idiot. I can tell exactly what you are." Sam looked away avoiding my gaze. He shifted his feet, clearly uncomfortable under my inquiry. "Hey." I snapped my fingers at him, trying to draw his attention back to me. "I'm not gonna ask why, or who you're getting the blood from… I just wanted to know if you've told Dean."

"How in the hell do you know about that?" he hissed under his breath.

"It doesn't matter, just answer the question."

"He knows what I can do… sending demons back to hell with my mind."

"I didn't know that." I interrupted. "Does he know that the reason you can do that is because you are drugging up on blood?"

"No, and I swear to God if you tell him, I'll make you pay." His face was a mixture of fury and fear. And I could tell how terrified he was. He sounded like he was talking to his archenemy. Which wasn't too far off. I now held some power of him. It was a nice feeling, especially considering how strong he was.

"Don't worry, secret's safe with me." Sam gave a curt nod and walked out the door, slamming it in my face. I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling, before opening the door and jogging to catch up with the boys. I climbed into the backseat and fixed my gaze on him. I couldn't trust either of the boys. The blood addict brother or the "I almost became a demon and I liked it" brother. I could only trust myself.

* * *

The tension in the car as we headed toward the scene was unbearable. It was like you could take a knife and slice right through it. I bit my lip as I sat in the backseat, glancing up in the rear view mirror, only to find Dean staring right back. I glared into his forest green hued irises, refusing to back down. Eventually, he was forced to return his gaze back to the road, which meant that I had won that silent contest. I turned my attention to the back of Sam's head, narrowing my eyes. I clenched my fists subtly, growling lowly.

Sam picked his head up from what he had written in a notebook and looked out the windshield, and without missing a beat, scoffed. "What could you possibly want now, Taylor?"

"It's Tala dumbass." I barked back. That shut him up right away. I could tell Dean was confused, but he didn't bother to ask why Sam and I were currently at each other's throats. I turned and gazed out the window, ignoring both of them. We still had at least an hour before the sun set, which was good since it would take us nearly an hour to get there. I watched as the town flew by. Texas was so boring. Flat, very few trees, it was just an offbeat place. I enjoyed the North, where there were rolling hills and mountains, and forests with thousands of trees. I loved watching as the leaves changed color and fell to the ground, and the bare branches reached towards the sky. Even though it was already December, the Texas trees held their leaves; they resisted the change in seasons. I felt out of place in this state, maybe it was the animal part of me that craved the trees and mountains up north.

My eyes adjusted to the dimming light as we drove, and finally we pulled off the road onto the driveway. Dean turned off the car, and swiveled around to look at me. I didn't give him any reaction, keeping my gaze neutral and my expression unreadable. He turned and shrugged at Sam, and I hopped out of the car, not bothering to wait for them. I had everything I needed in my hands. Assuming that the boys would turn to follow me, I started walking towards the house. I didn't get more than five feet when I realized that no one was behind me.

I turned around, "Come on." I said, letting my annoyance show. The brothers looked up from the trunk. Then Sam reached back in and pulled out two flashlights, tossing one over to Dean. I couldn't help myself. I started laughing, "You need flashlights?" I managed to get out between snickers.

"Um, yeah." Dean regarded me, he sounded baffled. "It's almost dark out, don't you need one?"

Of course. I had forgotten how well I could see in the dark. I wasn't used to working with others. "Nope, I'm fine without one. Better actually. It will probably just slow me down." I said in a rush, not wanting them to ask questions. Keeping my secret from these two might be harder than I thought. "Anyway, let's go."

We walked in silence towards the house. Every time they tried to walk next to me, I picked up my pace, and made sure I was in front of them. I didn't want to give them any indication that they could try to boss me around. When we got to the front of the house, Dean slipped in by himself, to find the demon and lure it out. I hung back with Sam, pushing down my hatred and focusing on the task at hand.

After ten minutes of waiting, I started to get impatient. The sun had finally disappeared completely, and the moon was rising. No clouds covered it tonight, and it washed everything in a beautiful grey color. I scanned the yard, and listened closely for any sign that Dean was coming out soon. The demon had to be inside somewhere. I noticed the car parked in the far corner of the yard, and the lightly trampled grass path leading to the side door. I could hear Dean moving around inside, but I couldn't hear the demon. He must be sitting down somewhere, just waiting. We just had to keep waiting. Dean was apparently horrible at hide and seek if it was taking him this long to find a stationary demon.

"Something's wrong." Sam said, breaking the silence and snapping me out of my trance, "I'm going in after him."

"No, he's fine." I started to explain, but Sam completely ignored me and darted inside, "Wait! No, Sam, Son of a bitch." I yelled angrily. I hesitated, debating whether or not I should follow him. Then, once again, I remembered what Dan had said to me. _If Sofiel wanted you to apologize to him, and he was pulled out of hell before you, he must be important. So don't kill him. At least not yet. Just work with him, keep him alive, then come back here and we'll throw darts at a picture of his face. _I pursed my lips and pulled out my knife and holy water. "Why me?" I grumbled before I ran in after them.

I whipped around a corner and saw both of them talking and pointing in different directions. They looked like they were arguing. I wasn't in the mood to deal with that so I didn't delay in walking over to them. "What the hell Sam?" I shouted out, furious. "We had a plan, I could have told you that your stupid brother was fine. He's supposed to be playing into our trap, not the other way around"

Sam opened his mouth, probably for some stinging retort, but a voice from in front cut him off. "This is exactly what I wanted." The demon drawled out, smiling as he stepped into the room. His black eyes gleamed with excitement, and I saw his arm tense up. He flicked his hand and Dean suddenly went flying across the room and let out a yell of pain as he hit the ground. The demon sneered at Sam and me, and flicked his hand. I sprang out of the way and I noticed that Sam didn't go anywhere. Even though he didn't jump out of the way like I did. He had just been completely unaffected by it. On the other hand, Dean, who had just gotten to his feet, was flung backwards a second time.

Sam and I turned to stare at each other, "What?" we both snapped out at the same time. How did he do that? "How?" I snarled back, He continued to look at me, his face a mixture of shock, confusion and anger. Demon blood. That could be the only explanation for it. He wasn't affected by demon powers.

I didn't have any time to question him. The demon had turned its attention back to Sam, probably since he was the only one currently standing. "All three of you. Together." He laughed and shook his head. This is too good to be true!"

I kept my eyes on him, alert for any signs that he was going to go on the attack. "I told you." I said nonchalantly to Sam, and then, without missing a beat, "Duck."

Sam must have trusted me some, because he hit the ground instantly as the knife flew over his head. Dean grabbed his holy water and flung it at the demon, missing. The man backed away and I rolled to my feet. Quick as I could, I shouted "HERE!" and tossed my holy water over to Dean, before taking off after him. "Sam!" I yelled as I sprinted away, gesturing in the opposite direction. He got the hint and started circling around the other way, with the demon knife in his hand. My shoulder was throbbing from the other night, but I ignored it and pushed on.

"Hey asshole!" I screamed, drawing his attention to me. I saw Dean sneak in along the side of the wall, just as the demon pulled out a gun. I heard a bang, and I hit the ground and rolled, coming on to my feet. Then I heard the demon cry out in pain, and I took that as my cue. I attacked him from the front, punching him in the face and grabbing his wrist, twisting his arm behind him. Then I used my foot to sweep his legs out from under him, putting pressure on his wrist and continuing to push him to the ground. I stood over him, holding him in place. He was completely at my mercy now, unable to struggle free. Smiling I leaned in close, tasting triumph. "Looks like you lost." I jeered at him, just as Sam came from behind and stabbed him in the back. I held him up for a split second longer before letting the body fall to the ground.

I was ready to get out of there, to leave the brothers behind. I gave them both a curt nod before turning and walking out the door. I could catch a taxi or something on the way back. They had just completely fucked up my plan, again, and I wasn't in the mood to deal with them any longer. I knew that they were following me, but this time I didn't care. I just kept walking all the way outside, and towards the car.

"Slow down will you." Dean said, walking up to be right beside me. I stopped in my tracks, taking a deep breath to control myself.

"Well guys, this has been horrible. I would say it was nice meeting you but that's a downright lie." I spoke sharply, "So yeah. I'm out of here. Have a good life. Don't contact me and I hope I never see you again."

"Tala." This time it was Sam's voice. He looked like he was being forced to speak. "We made a good team back there. And there's something major going on right now. I'm not sure if you know about the seals, or Lilith."

"Trust me." I said curtly. "I know about Lilith."

He nodded before continuing, "But anyway, we need your help. It's best if we just stuck together and worked together until this is over. What do you say?"

I looked at Sam, and then glanced over at Dean. No. I couldn't trust them. I couldn't work with them. Especially not Dean… But I also needed to figure out what was going on, with Sam, with the knife, why Dean was important. Being near them was the best way to do that. Then again, I couldn't keep hiding my hatred for the two of them, especially Dean. I didn't want to run in after them because I was hoping the demon would kill them for me. I wasn't going to forget my promise. But I also had to solve this, to put together the puzzle pieces and understand what was happening, and what was going to happen. I clenched my fists and took a deep breath, another one, and then a third, before forcing the words out of my mouth. "All right. Count me in."


	9. Feral

_**So sorry for the long time between updates! I'll have a couple more chapters for you this week! Like normal, please review, and once again I'm sorry for the long time between updates! I hope you guy enjoy the chapter, I'll try to get another one to you tomorrow or Wednesday. **_

* * *

"A skinwalker case?" I repeated for a third time, trying to keep the shock out of my voice.

Dean didn't bother to answer. He was probably tired of explaining the case, and he was probably wondering why I seemed so against the idea. I clenched my jaw stubbornly and turned away, trying to hide my doubts. He seemed dead set on the case for some reason and I couldn't see any way that it would end well for me.

It was early January and I had been hunting with the Winchesters for a little more than a month. I hadn't learned much; there was no trust between us. I was still no closer to figuring out the secrets behind Sam's demon blood and Dean's importance. It was pissing me off that I wasn't figuring things out, but since I was so secretive around them, they returned the favor. The only plus was that we worked well together, when we weren't trying to rip each other's throats out. So far I had punched Sam in the face and pulled my gun out on Dean. But I stuck with it, my curiosity keeping me around.

Somehow, I knew I wouldn't win this fight. I could always leave and find my own case, but I wasn't one to leave questions unanswered. Maybe I could pull this off without getting myself, and the other skinwalkers, killed. "Fine, where are we going?" I said after a few minutes of silence. Sam glanced up from his computer, and then he exchanged a look with Dean. I let out a heavy sigh, I hated when they did that.

"All-right!" Dean sat up, clapping his hands together. I didn't understand why he needed to do this case. Wasn't it more important to focus on stopping the apocalypse? Lilith was out there breaking seals and we were just going on a joke case. The Winchester's really needed to get their priorities straightened. Lost in my thoughts, I had missed the details of the case. I tuned back in just in time to hear him say, "Logan, Ohio. We can leave tomorrow morning and get there in the afternoon. It's about time we've had a monster case, it's been too long."

"They're not monsters." I retorted coldly, glaring at him.

Dean and Sam glanced at each other again; did I mention I hate it when they do that? "Whatever you say." Sam said with a shrug. He looked confused as to why I had all of a sudden gotten so defensive. But he didn't question me further. "We're leaving at seven tomorrow morning. Be ready."

I turned and walked out, trying to hide my misgivings. Even though I had been working with them for a few cases now, is till refused to stay anywhere near them. I went so far as to ask for a room on the complete opposite side of the hotels that we stayed at. It was also good that I was on the second floor and the east end of the hotel, because I really needed to sneak out to the woods tonight. This was going to be bad, very bad. I could feel it. But I knew I couldn't let the Winchester's destroy my people. They were like an extended family. Sure, they may have gone off the reservation a bit and started killing, but I could turn it around. I just needed to talk to them. And convince the assholes not to go monster hunt crazy. Right before I slammed the door behind me, I snapped over my shoulder, "I'll be driving separately."

* * *

As soon as we got to Logan, I knew why the skinwalkers had decided to settle here. It was a gorgeous town, and there was a state forest nearby called Hocking Hills. I instantly knew that they were hiding out in the woods, because it's exactly what I would do. I followed the Winchesters to the sheriff station, and then I let them interview the cops as I walked around, looking at pictures of the park. It looked beautiful, with rugged cliffs, deep gorges, secluded caves and cascading waterfalls, all hidden inside a mysterious forestland.

I grabbed a pamphlet of Hocking Hills and started reading through it, looking for any place that a skinwalker would enjoy living. Many of the places seemed quite popular, but I could imagine a group of them holing up in the rock house, the only true cave in the park. I could probably track them by scent, but I knew Sam and Dean would want to take the "traditional approach". Interviewing the victim's families. Maybe I could come up with an excuse and get away from them long enough to track them down in the woods. If I could track them down, and talk to them, maybe I could leave the town with my secret intact and save the others. It would be quite the challenge, but I loved a good challenge. I always did.

I turned my attention to the photos of wildlife. There was a stunning shot of a coyote standing in the snow, and another photo of a black bear. I was so distracted that Dean had to whistle to get my attention. I sighed deeply, holding back from yelling at him. Wrenching my gaze from the pictures lining the station, I made my way over to the Winchesters. "What did you find out?"

Dean shoved his hands in his pockets and met my gaze. "Nothing new. So far there have been three deaths, hearts ripped out of their chest and nowhere to be found. The station is blaming it on a wild animal, probably a wolf they say, even though they're rare in these parts. I would say it's a werewolf but the lunar cycle is all off. I'm just going to stick with what I said earlier. I'm almost positive that this is a skinwalker case."

I nodded, and then glanced down at my map. I knew Dean was right, and I did not want to be here. But there was no getting out of it now. After a brief moment of gathering my thoughts, and trying to hide my rising anxiety over the case, I responded, "All right, what do you want to do first?"

"It's getting pretty late." Sam said walking over, tucking his fake badge back into his pocket. "I say we go find a motel and get some rest. Pick it up tomorrow."

The idea launched into my head right away and I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. It was time I got my own way. "Not a motel." I said suddenly. They both looked at me, shocked at what I was saying. I didn't respond, I just shouldered past them and walked straight up to the officer they had been talking to, "Excuse me sir." I called, flashing a brilliant smile, and pulling out my badge "FBI, you just talked with my partners. We would like to rent a cabin in the woods for the next week."

* * *

"I hate camping." Dean muttered as he walked up the steps to the cabin. It was nestled deep in the park, surrounded by trees and cliffs. Dean dropped his bag next t mine and started fumbling in his pocket for the keys. He had such a sad pitiful look on his face, like a little kid being forced into something he didn't want to do. I turned my head away so Dean wouldn't catch me laughing under my breath. Maybe I was wrong. This could be a lot of fun.

He finally found the key and opened the door, darting inside like he was afraid a monster was hiding five feet from the entrance. "Awww what's wrong Dean?" I said, my voice sweet and a sarcastic frown on my face "You don't like the big bad woods?"

Sam tried to stifle a laugh but it came out as a choked snicker. I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing, leaning against the wall to hold myself up.

"Oh shut up." Dean growled, marching into the room away from us, with a roll of his eyes. For a brief moment Sam and I continued to laugh at Dean's expense. Then our eyes met, and I wiped the smile off my face. I wouldn't allow myself to have fun with Sam, not when he continued to use his so-called "powers." I could tell Sam was having similar thoughts. He returned to being all business, clearly remembering my threats.

A few awkward moments later, Dean walked back into the room, "All right, what's the plan?" he snapped out, clearly still sore about being made fun of. I raised my head sharply, focusing on him. Perfect. This was my chance to get away from them. I just had to find the skinwalkers before they did.

"How about you two go talk to some families and I'll stay here and explore the woods? I'll see if I can find anything and ask campers in the area of they've noticed anything unusual." I suggested, trying to make it sound like the most logical approach to the case. Then I couldn't resist adding, "Plus Dean you can get out from under the scary trees."

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew it was a mistake. I wasn't surprised with what he said next. "I'll stay and look in the woods. You and Sam can go interview families instead." Dean said, a stubborn glare on his face. I cursed under my breath. Why did I have to make fun of him again?

"Fine." I muttered. "I'll go check out the younger victims family. We can meet back here in two hours." I walked out the door, silently cursing myself for opening my big, fat mouth.

I sat in my car for a moment before backing out. I considered blowing off talking to the family and coming back to the woods, but there was the possibility of running into Dean, plus it would be helpful to talk to the victim families. Then again, there wasn't a connection between victims. Not a single one. It was probably a personal thing, out for revenge on the people who had wronged them. It's what I would do, what I had considered doing. If that were the case, then it would be more helpful to do a quick exam of the body, to make sure it was indeed a skinwalker case, and to see if there was a scent on the bodies. Then at night, I could track them in the woods. My mind was made up, that's what I was going to do. Plus a small part of me couldn't tolerate following Dean's directions.

* * *

I pulled into the coroner's office just as my phone started ringing. I glanced at it and saw that it was Dean's number. Rolling my eyes, I hit ignore and turned my phone off. I didn't want any distractions right now. I shuffled through my badges in the center console until I found my FBI badge.

I raised my chin and strode inside the office, attracting the attention of the young lady sitting at the front desk. "May I help you?" she said, sitting up a little taller in her chair, a concerned look on her face as if she thought she was in trouble.

"My name is Alexis Cross, FBI. I'm here to examine the bodies of Isaac Belton and Lindsay Jade, the two victims of the animal attacks."

"Why is the FBI concerned about an animal attack?"

I fixed her with a cold glare, making her squirm in her seat, "Why don't you let me worry about that." I said shortly. "Now where can I go to examine the bodies?"

She gulped and quickly called someone over the intercom, then turned and told me to go through the doors to see him. I gave a curt nod and went to meet up with one of the coroners. He was a short, balding man, who looked extremely confused about having the FBI on the case.

"Sir." I said respectfully, stepping forward and shaking his hand. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Alexis, should we get started?"

"I'm Dr. Moss. Follow me, I'll show you Isaac's first." I nodded and followed him into the room, pulling on the gloves and apron. Then we went in and he pulled out the body.

I instantly started examining it, looking at the empty spot in his chest where the heart was supposed to be. I sighed deeply, and then I looked at the bite marks and the claw marks along the body. I didn't need any more confirmation. This case was exactly what it seemed.

"So what got the FBI interested in a wolf attack?" he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Not a wolf." I said instantly, glancing up from my examination. "Look closely at the bites. The teeth marks from the canines are an inch deep, max. Wolves have canines that can be up to two inches. Also the bite marks are too small to be a wolf. Wolves' jaws are large and powerful, made for crushing bone. The teeth are also too narrow. A wolf would have thicker teeth. From looking at these bites it's clear that a domestic breed caused this over a wolf. Especially if you look at the claw marks and how close together they are. Wolfs feet splay out and are much larger. The bite force seems to be pretty substantial so we're probably looking at a pit bull, German shepherd, Rottweiler, or Doberman, one of the breeds with a powerful bite force." I leaned in, pretending to get a closer look at the wounds, and I got a quick scent of the body. It was very faint, and hard to detect under all the smells associated with a dead body, but I could definitely detect the scent of a dog. "Yep." I said leaning up and looking at him again, "Definitely not a wolf."

He looked impressed at my knowledge, and then confused. "So, someone's pet did this?" there was a shocked undertone to his otherwise calm voice.

"Probably not." I responded, trying my best to keep him from going out and killing people's pets. "This was most likely a dog living out in the woods, and I read the reports and researched on the family. Isaac didn't own any pets. So it may be a domestic dog breed, that's living like a wild animal in the woods."

He shrugged, accepting it, and then backed away from the body. "Did you still want to check out the other victim?" he asked.

"Yes, it will be good to get an idea of exactly what we're dealing with." He nodded and led me across the room, wheeling out the second body of a young woman, in her early thirties.

I did the same approach, examining the teeth and claw marks. The teeth marks were deeper but other than that, everything looked similar. I took a deep breath in, catching the scent and then pulled away. Damn it. The scent was different. This was done by a different skinwalker. Not too surprising though, considering many of them liked to be in small groups. I nodded at Dr. Moss to let him know I was done, then left the room to go clean up.

A few minutes later he came running out. "Well Alexis, is there anything else I can do for you?"

I turned and met his gaze. "No that will be it, thank you doctor. Have a good day." I shook his hand one more time before leaving, making sure to fix the secretary at the front desk with a cold glare, just to make her uncomfortable. I bit my lip to hide a laugh when I heard her start furiously typing.

As soon as I made my way back to the car, I pulled out my phone and returned Dean's call, eager to share my findings with someone.

"So." I said instantly when he picked up, not bothering to greet him, "Did you find anything?"

"No." he sounded frustrated. "Sam didn't find anything either with that girl Lindsay's family. What did you find out with Isaac's family?"

"Yeah, about that." I leaned against the hood of my car, preparing for the upcoming outburst. "I didn't interview the family, I went to the coroner's office. And I found a few things."

"I thought we had a plan Tala." He snapped over the phone.

"Screw the plan. I do what I want, and what will solve the case faster." I growled back. "Anyway" I interrupted before he could get in a word, "It's definitely a skinwalker, probably a German shepherd or Doberman, maybe a Rottweiler, there's at least two of them, and it's most likely not a pet. Please don't ask how I know all of this, I'm kind of an expert with monster cases. But last thing I found out is that there is absolutely no connection, which means they are probably just killing whoever they feel deserves it."

I waited for what seemed like ten minutes as the boys tried to process everything I just said. "Okay, that's all good." He said slowly, as if talking to a child, "Now how in the hell are we going to find them?"

"I'm on my way back now," I said standing up and swinging the door open, "but it's getting fairly late, so I'm gonna go straight to bed. We can continue this in the morning."

"What is it with you and getting enough sleep?" Dean muttered, but I ignored him and hung up the phone.

On the drive back, I got myself prepared for the night. I had to go out and find them, try to reason with them. I had to make them understand, if I couldn't, I would kill them. Simple as that. But maybe, just maybe, I could talk them out of being such stupid suicidal idiots.

I finally pulled up to the cabin and rushed inside. as soon as I walked in, the Winchester's came up to me, clearly wanting to ask me more. But I shoved past them and went into the room on the left, slamming the door behind me. then I set my alarm for midnight and lay down on the bed, trying to get in a quick nap before my late night search.

* * *

The alarm on my phone jarred me awake. I immediately rolled to my feet, grabbing my shoes in my hand, and snatching my knife off the bed. I slowly creaked open the door, making sure that Dean and Sam weren't drinking in the kitchen. It was all clear, so I slowly snuck across the floor and slid out the door into the cold winter air.

There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, and I quickly tied my boots on. Not that it mattered; I was going to change in just a moment once I got into the woods. I walked slowly along the gravel lot heading towards the trail opening. I examined the map in the moonlight, looking for the cave I had seen at the sheriff office. It was only a couple miles away, a quick run as a wolf. I checked around once more to be certain I wasn't followed, and then I slid into the woods. I walked a quarter mile in and then I let out a low growl and changed, falling onto all fours. Then I took off jogging into towards the cave.

After a mile or so of running, I finally caught the scent of one of the skinwalkers. I felt of rush of excitement and picked up the pace, sprinting through the trees following the trail. It got stronger as I got closer and then I rounded the corner and saw the cave. It was huge, and it resembled a tunnel stretching along the cliff face.

I approached it cautiously, not sure what to expect. The scent was strong here, and I knew this was where the pack was hiding. I walked around the outside sniffing the ground, and detected three separate scents. Three, I could handle three. I walked around once more, making sure I hadn't missed anything, before lowering to the ground and slinking in. There was no snow inside the tunnel-like cave, and the darkness lay thick and heavy. It took my eyes a moment to adjust, and then I saw them, just barely. Three shapes were huddled in a crevice against the rocks, hidden in the shadows.

I raised my head and trotted closer to them. I was only a hundred meters away when I threw my head back and howled, letting the howl echo throughout the cave. Instantly all the three heads snapped up. Two Dobermans and one Rottweiler, they all got to their feet, exchanging glances. i growled again and approached them.

They advanced on me as well, slowly, snarling. I stayed where I was, hackles raised, teeth bared, letting them approach. When they were just a few meters away from me, I changed back into a human. "So." I said coolly, "I don't usually run into fellow skinwalkers in these parts."

The three dogs had stopped in their tracks, probably shocked that I was one of them. Then the biggest, one of the Dobermans, turned into a person as well and stepped forward. "Who are you?"

I walked over to him, my hand on my knife, ready to defend myself. "My name's Tala, I've been looking for you."

He exchanged a glance with his two companions, giving them a nod. They both morphed back into human form, one tall guy with black hair, and the girl with brown hair. The first guy, I was assuming he was the leader, turned back to me. he also had black hair, and he was tall, the other guy was very strong, and powerfully built. "My name is Conner, and this is Marcy and Tiago." He said gesturing to his companions, he hesitated, before fixing me with a sharp look, "Have you come to join our pack?"

"Actually no." they all three instantly got defensive, and Tiago growled low in his throat. I pulled out my knife, letting them see it, "I'm here to find out why you're killing people."

"If you're not here to join, then why should we give you any answers?" the girl barked out, her eyes fixed on the silver in my hands, before looking over at Conner, "She's here to kill us." She said in a hushed voice.

"Look I understand if these people were bad people, or they did something to you. I understand if they deserved it. But they didn't. I've done my research. So why murder them?" I paced in front of them, keeping a warning in my voice to let them know that I wouldn't hesitate to attack.

"Well you're right about one thing." Conner said slowly, probably wondering how much he should tell me. "We killed random people, but there's a reason behind it all." He walked up to me, until he stood just a foot away, "We're doing it for revenge."

"Revenge on who?"

"Hunters." Tiago snarled, "They've destroyed hundreds of us. Not anymore. It's our turn to kill them."

"Wait a minute." I laughed for a second, letting his words process. "You did this, murdered two innocent people, to draw in hunters?"

"That's right." Conner smiled, "Brilliant right? And they're here! We saw two guys walking around, talking about skinwalkers. We did it and lured them in. are you sure you don't want in? This revenge will be sweet. And it's just the beginning." He looked at me, spreading his arms, "We're powerful Tala. And with you, a wolf, on our side, hell we would be unstoppable! Never again would a skinwalker have to fear death from hunters when we're done."

It was tempting. It would be so easy to just kill Dean, but then I thought of everything I had been through. I had watched my entire family die. I had been to hell and back. I was currently working with someone who had tortured me and someone who seemed to enjoy chugging demon blood in his spare time. Plus I had a job to do. And Bree, and Dan. What would they think of me killing? I knew what my answer had to be, "No. I won't help. I can't."

His smile faded. "This is your only offer. We don't want to have to kill a fellow sinwalker, but we will if we have to." He actually looked concerned for me, but I stodd firm in my position, "Last offer. Join us and get your revenge."

I stopped pacing for a moment, contemplating my next move. There wasn't going to be any reasoning, and at this point I didn't want to try. "My answer remains, and as of right now, if we fought, I'm guessing one of you would die, and I would make my escape with just an injury, so let's avoid that." I hissed back, my voice cool and calculating, "I'll make this simple for you. I'm here with those other hunters. It's an even match, and if you go up against us, you will lose, and you will all die. So here's your warning, here's your last chance to get out." I snarled. But I could tell they weren't taking my threat seriously, so I did a desperate move. I grabbed Conner and shoved him against the wall, pressing my knife to his throat. I saw Marcy and Tiago flinch, but neither made a move at me, and I focused all my attention on Conner. "Leave." I growled, "Or we will kill you. Last chance."

I held him there for a brief moment longer before I let him go, and Iwatched as he backed up towards his friends, eyes wide in shock and anger. "We're not leaving, we're getting our revenge."

"Fine then." I smiled at him; pushing all my negative thoughts about this hunt away, "Let the games begin."


	10. Fire

_**Sorry about this! I was trying to get it up earlier on wednesday, but I had some issues and I've been very busy this week! Just to let you know, I have about five or six more chapters planned and my goal is to get this fic finished before the new year! Please keep reading and reviewing, and enjoy :)**_

* * *

I took my time getting back to the cabin, enjoying being in the woods at night. It was a beautiful park, and with the snow on the ground the scenery was even more impressive. The trees seemed to stretch forever and the cliffs rose high above my head. A part of me knew that I should hurry back, before Dean or Sam noticed my absence, but I really didn't give a shit at this point. I didn't even know what I was doing. What was the point of hunting? I mean I was hunting with two people that I hated. How long could I keep up the mask? I stopped at the base of a cliff and changed back into a human. I scaled the cliff and stood on top looking over the park. I felt a thrill run through me, standing on top. I loved the feeling, of being powerful and on top of the world.

I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath of the icy air. Standing on the rocks, I suddenly remembered an offer someone had made me. I scrambled in my pocket, pulling my phone out and clicking through it, finding what I wanted. I hesitated, my thumb hovering over the number of my oldest friend. I was tempted to call him, but I shouldn't. We had gone our separate ways. I bit my lip, and then flipped the phone shut, putting it back in my pocket. Not now.

I stood up there for a moment longer, before turning with a heavy sigh and heading back to the cabin. When I got close, I smelled it. A demon was nearby. I went on defense mode, sneaking closer, all my senses alert. When I got closer, I saw them. Two figures standing out in the snow. I crept closer and almost dropped my knife in shock. One of them was a woman with dark hair. She was talking in a hushed voice to the other person, who I recognized. It was Sam.

What the hell was Sam doing talking to a demon? I was about to sneak back into the cabin and question him later, when things got even stranger. Sam leaned in, kissing the girl. I rolled my eyes, my lip curling at their display of affection. This couldn't wait. My curiosity, and disgust, was too much to wait till the morning.

"Well," I said striding into the open, hiding a smirk when I saw the shocked looks on their faces, "This is awkward."

"Tala." Sam's face was expressionless, but he shifted uncomfortably. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I fired back, "Who is she? I'm not stupid either; I know she's a demon. So why don't you tell me what's going on with this?"

"None of your business." He snapped, staring at me as if he was expecting me to leave. I stayed right where I was, holding his gaze. After a couple minutes of our silent standoff, he rolled his eyes over at the girl then looked back at me. "I'm guessing you're not going to leave until I tell you who she is?"

"Exactly." I smiled brightly, my hands on my hips. "I can do this all night."

"Just tell her Sam, she'll find out eventually." The woman said, clearly annoyed with my persistent glare.

"Her name's Ruby." Sam looked at her for a moment, his gaze soft and warm, then glanced back at me, "And you're right. She is a demon. There are you happy? She's helping us stop Lilith."

"What's with the goo-goo eyes and the exchange of saliva?"

"That's none of your business." He snapped back. He was clearly angry that I was prying into his private life. "All you need to know is that we owe her a lot, she gave us the knife, and saved our lives more times than we can count."

"Wait, she gave you the…" then I stopped, my face changing from confusion to exasperation. Suddenly it all made sense, the knife, Lilith, the demon blood, how it was all connected… "You have got to be fucken kidding me." I growled under my breath, shaking my head. How could he be that stupid?

"I'm out of here Sam." Ruby said, fixing me with a cold glare. "Here" she shoved a vial at Sam, and he quickly snatched it and shoved it in his pocket. "See you around." Then she was gone, leaving Sam and I standing in the snow together.

"Let me guess." My voice was brittle, "Demon blood?"

"Shut up." He scowled, shoving past me and walking into the cabin. I watched him go, and then followed him inside. He went straight to the kitchen, pulling out a beer from the fridge.

"Sam." I said coldly, fixing him with my penetrating stare. "You better be careful. You may think she's working with you, and helping you, but she's a demon. I don't care what your past is. They all have an agenda. And her agenda is not the same as yours. You want to keep working with her? Go right ahead. But you WILL regret it."

I didn't wait for his response; I just turned and walked away, slamming the door behind me. This had become the most dangerous case in the world. If Sam found out about me… if he found out, he would go straight to Ruby. I knew Ruby was working with Lilith, why couldn't Sam see that? If Ruby found out, and went to Lilith, everybody would know. I would be dead in a week. I collapsed on the bed, and put my knife on the dresser nearby. I looked at the silver, glinting softly from the moonlight streaming in the windows. "Let the games begin." I whispered.

* * *

"All right then. Lead us there." Dean's voice made me jump and I turned slowly, as if in a dream.

For a moment I just stared at him, then I shook my head, brushing my hair back with one hand. "I'm sorry, what?" I said, too tired to make a sarcastic retort. After the events of last night, I hadn't gotten much sleep. My brain had been on overdrive when I was laying in my bed, trying to connect the dots and figure out how I could use my new knowledge to my advantage. Ruby was tricking everyone right now, but not me. But if I could pretend to be falling for her tricks… maybe then she could lead me to Lilith. Then again, what if that was her master plan? All I knew is that she was on Lilith's side, trying to raise Lucifer. The question was how? What was her plan?

He did a heavy sigh and blinked and looked away. "Someone's distracted this morning." Dean grumbled under his breath. "You just told us that you knew where the skinwalkers were. Are you going to show us or?"

"Right, right. Um, yeah, so I couldn't sleep last night and found a path that went off trail. I followed it, found some human footprints, some dog prints, then I found a cave, saw shapes moving and yeah. Decided to come back instead of tackling them by myself." I said, with a shrug. It wasn't completely a lie; it just wasn't the real truth either.

"Works for me." Sam said, grabbing the keys and leading the way out the door.

"Wait. We're going into the woods dumbass." I said, "We aren't driving there. We'll have to walk."

"Great." Sam grumbled, giving Dean one of those looks. Then he slammed the keys back on the counter, being a drama queen. "Let's just go then."

I grabbed my gun, loaded with silver, and hid it in my jacket. Then I clipped my knife on my pocket like I always did and led the way out the door. We headed wordlessly down the path. The brothers were reluctant to talk openly in front of me. And there was no way I was going to talk to them, so silence it was. I kept my senses on high alert; I wouldn't put it past Conner and his friends to ambush me. But there was nothing. I could only hope that the three of them had stayed around, waiting for a showdown of some type.

When we started getting close, is topped in my tracks, holding out my arms to stop them from going any farther. If I was by myself I would have just run in without a plan, but there were three of us, which meant three guns firing at three skinwalkers. We definitely needed a plan or somebody might get shot.

"What now?" Sam said sharply. He was clearly sick of me being in charge.

"Be quiet." I hissed back, "We're getting close. It's best to go in with a plan. If they're even still there…"

"I swear if we trekked two miles into the woods in the snow for nothing, I'll kill you." Dean muttered, with a disgusted look at the trees.

"See that cave." I said, pointing through the trees at the formation. Both boys nodded and I continued, "Last night that's where I found them. It's really early, and they didn't see me." I lied, "So they should still be there. The cliffs on one side block them in, but there's still multiple ways to escape. If two of us go in there from the main entrance, one of you two can sneak around to the back and try to cover the open area. When they see us, they will probably transform and try to run out. Hopefully we can end this case right here and take them all out."

"I'll go around." Sam offered. I gave a curt nod and he started to creep away, leaving me alone with Dean.

"Hey Sam wait. Aim for the legs and shoulders. Let's not kill them." I said, focusing my attention back to the cave. Sam stopped and turned to Dean, his gaze clouding over with confusion.

Dean was the one who addressed me, "What? Tala, they've killed two innocent people for no reason at all. They're monsters, simple as that. They just kill to make a statement. That's it. If I get a clear shot, I'm taking it." I turned my eyes back on him, keeping my face neutral. I couldn't show any emotions.

"We haven't even reasoned with them, or talked to them. If we can take them down without killing them, then that's what we should do. We don't know their story." I tried to explain, but Dean just kept shaking his head.

"I'll admit that not all monsters are what they seem. But this time, it's a black and white case. Monsters are killing people, and we kill them. It's that simple. There's nothing in between, no grey scale."

My heart sank. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was as if time stopped in its tracks, screeching to a sudden halt. If only Dean knew what I was, and for a moment I almost told him. if he knew, he would understand why I was so reluctant t kill the other three skinwalkers. It was so frustrating. Why wouldn't anyone listen to me on this case? But I couldn't show my misgivings in front of Dean. I was already being suspicious enough, with my midnight journey through the woods, and my reluctance to take on this case to begin with.

Dean stared at me, his eyebrow quirked in confusion, his mind probably wondering why I had suddenly turned silent. He shrugged and looked at Sam, pulling his gun from his waistband. "So we're shooting to kill then? It's unanimous." Sam nodded in agreement, creeping away to go take up position on the far side. I wanted to make another case for my opinion, even though I knew it would be to no avail. Instead I just took a deep breath and crouched next to Dean, waiting for Sam to tell us to go.

It only took a couple minutes. Dean's phone buzzed and he pulled it out. "Sam's in position, let's go." I didn't say anything; I just stood up, pulled out my gun and charged into the cave. All three of them jumped up, and then it was pure chaos. The girl sprinted straight out, and Tiago ducked behind a large rock, shielding him. Conner took out a knife and threw it, aiming straight for my head.

Dean fired twice at him, missing both times. I glared at Conner, furious, and then I fired at him. He had the sense to run. I heard a snarl and saw Tiago take off as a dog, he was almost out of the cave when dean got him in the neck, taking him down instantly. Meanwhile, I focused my attention on the pack leader. Every instinct was screaming for me to chase him down as a wolf, but I couldn't forget whom I was with. Especially no that I knew what Dean was thinking… it was all black and white to him.

My feet slid on the slick cave floor and I tried to get a grip on the ground. Conner was still ahead of me and he changed, stretching out all four legs into a mad sprint away. I ran out of the formation, breathing heavy, frustrated as I watched him get away.

Marcy was still alive, furiously dodging Sam and his bullets. I held out my gun, ready to fire, but then I hesitated. Could I really kill her? It didn't seem right. She was just being brainwashed by Conner. I lowered my gun; there was nothing else I could do. I wasn't going to be responsible for her death.

I jumped at the shot that came behind me. "No." I whispered softly as the girl fell to the ground. I just realized how young she was, probably in her early twenties. But I could only allow myself a second to grieve, no more. I put on my mask and put my gun back in my jacket. Then I raised my chin, returning to being all business, and strode across the ground.

"The one inside is dead." Dean said coming over to join us, looking down at the body by Sam's feet. He looked up at Sam his breath fogging the air. I suddenly felt a chill run through me. Dean had seen me lower the gun. I bit my lip, already preparing my defense.

"Why didn't you take the shot?" he said sharply, his green eyes questioning and suspicious.

Shit. I had nothing. "Well…" I started, trying to buy time, "Here's he thing, you see I'm quite brilliant with the knife stuff but with guns, well, and your brother there, and so I tried and um..."

"Hey, look at this." Sam interrupted, saving me from my awkward and failing explanation. He held out a piece of paper, something that must have fallen out of Marcy's hand. "There's an address here. Maybe that's where the other guy ran off."

I grabbed it, scanning the address. "Perfect, that's not far from here. Let's go now. Maybe we can cut him off before he gets there."

For once they didn't argue with me, we made our way out of the woods as fast as we could through the snow. Sam went inside to grab the keys and I went to my trunk, digging through it to find my silver bullets to reload my gun. "We got everything." I announced, jumping into shotgun. Sam rolled his eyes and climbed into the back. "Punch it Dean."

* * *

We flew down the road. I knew we only had a short window of time to get to the address before the skinwalker and cut him off. At least with him I would have no regrets. The way he had brainwashed the other two into believing hunters were all evil was so wrong. It was frustrating and I couldn't believe that he was the one to get away. It wasn't fair. Marcy should be the one on the run. Or Tiago. Not Conner.

We got closer and close to the address. Sam and I scanned the woods, looking for any sign of a dog. I kept my eyes peeled for a black Doberman, but a part of me knew that he would stay in the woods until he got to the address. Finally there was an end to the park, about four miles away from where we had started our drive. A large building loomed up ahead; I was certain it was the address.

Dean slowed down, giving Sam and I the perfect opportunity to scan the woods. "There!" I yelled suddenly, pointing out the window. Conner had just emerged from the woods, going full speed towards the building. Dean made a wild turn off the road, into the large, empty parking lot in front of the complex.

He pulled up to the factory, slamming on the brakes. The car had barely stopped moving when I opened the door. The impala was still running, and my feet were already on the ground, in hot pursuit of Conner. The large factory loomed in front of me in the setting sun. It was an old scale building, recently abandoned, and there were probably many places to hide. But he couldn't hide from me; I could track him by scent.

I entered the large-scale factory with the Winchester's right on my heels. We had barely gone five feet in when a knife came flying towards us. I tackled Dean sideways to get him out of the knives path. Sam started firing and Conner returned the shots with a gun of his own.

"Thanks." Dean gasped, yanking me to my feet and we both jumped behind peaking out to exchange gunfire with the skinwalker. I tried to get in a clear shot, but it just wasn't working out, and I was running out of bullets. One left, I had to make this one count. I heard Sam curse and I knew he must be out of ammo. Conner fired once more, and I jumped up shooting back. My bullet missed him by an inch, no more.

His gun clicked and so did mine. Conner backed away, grinning, before jogging down the corridor. "Damn it!" Dean cursed behind me. He held his gun out in an exasperated motion. "We're out, we have to go to the car to get more." I glanced quickly to my left, Conner was at the end of the hallway, and he was going to escape if we did that. The brothers turned as one and started to walk back to the car, "Come on." Dean called over his shoulder.

I wasn't going to wait; he wasn't getting away from me a second time. "Wait for me by the car!" I snapped out, dropping my gun on the ground and pulling my knife out. I sprinted after Conner, down the hallway, away from the Winchesters. I saw him dart through the large double doors and I followed him in.

He stopped looking around him. I quickly scanned the room; it seemed to be a storage place for the complex. It had multiple barrels lining the walls, and a strong smell of gasoline. But there was no way out except through the double doors, and I was guarding them. "Give it up!" I yelled from where I stood, holding my silver blade in front of me.

Conner stared at me, then his eyes flicked to the door. I fixed him with my challenging glare. "What's it gonna be? We can talk about this or we can fight. Your choice."

"You know my answer." He growled slowly, and then he changed into a dog, baring his teeth and snarling.

I put my knife away, smirking, "You want a dog fight? I'll give you one." I transformed into my wolf form, just in time too. He didn't hesitate to attack, his teeth snapping at my neck and face. My fur was so thick though that his teeth didn't make an impact. I weaved left and right, using my speed to my advantage. I dug my teeth into his leg, flinging him to the side and moved back in front of the door. My fur raised, my teeth bared, I waited for his next attack.

He tried a new tactic, attempting to dart around me to escape. I flung myself on top f him, using my larger size to crush him to the ground. He snapped at my legs, pulling me off balance. I crashed to the ground just as he jumped up. I sprang to my paws and sprinted after him, overtaking him once again. I grabbed the scruff of his neck, shoving him backwards once more.

I crouched there, panting, bracing myself for another attempt. But it never came. Instead he turned back into a human. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "You win Tala." He said slowly. I stayed where I was, in my defensive position. "At least, you've won against me. But you haven't won against yourself. When they find out, those hunters, they'll come after you. I gave you a chance to stop that before it even started but now." He laughed, "They'll find out eventually, and they'll find you and kill you." I turned back into a person, my rage building. I pulled out my knife, ready to throw it.

Too late I realized that the item he had pulled out of his pocket was a lighter. He flicked it on and threw it to the side where it hit one of the barrels of gas. I froze in horror, as the explosion seemed to rock the entire world. "What have you done?" I yelled. Then it happened. While I was distracted, Conner pulled out a knife of his own and shoved it deep into his chest.

I froze in shock then sprinted over to where he lay dying. I didn't know whether I should be relieved, sad, or angry. Then there was the small nagging voice in the back of my head, telling me that he was right. "Why don't you just accept who you are?" he coughed as I bent over him, conflicted. He looked at me, his eyes brimming with hatred, before his body started convulsing. I watched, a face of stone, as he died right in front of me.

Another explosion jarred me back to reality. I twisted to find that the fire was spreading and it was now only a few feet away from me. I didn't hesitate. I snatched up my knife and started running. The fire still gained on me so I switched from two legs to four, eating up the ground as I tried to make it to the exit. I sprinted down the long hallway as a wolf, hoping to make it out in time. The fire roared and crackled behind me. Fire. Why did it have to be fire? The heat was intense and I focused on running as I tried to push away all my panic. My brother always told me that I reminded him of fire, strong and aggressive, with a fury and ambition that could not be contained. I was like fire but fire was my biggest fear, it just didn't make sense. I shook my head, distracting myself, shoving away my dread. I pushed on, running free, imagining that the fire behind me did not exist. I knew I was getting close. The long corridor went around a corner then the exit was only a few hundred yards away. I whipped around the corner and ran headlong into the Winchesters.

"I told you to wait for me by the car!" I snapped. Neither one reacted. They both just stood there, staring, not understanding. Then I noticed their faces. They both looked stunned. Dean was staring open-mouthed at the left side of my face. He was at a loss for words. I looked at Sam, confused, just as Sam narrowed his eyes and pulled out his gun. Too late, I realized that I was still a wolf. And they recognized me. Sam lifted the gun.

I turned, my paws scrabbling on the ground, and ran back in the direction I had come from. I had to get away from them. I heard the gunshot, once, twice, and the third time there was an explosion of pain on my side. The impact knocked me over but my will to live kept me going. I heard Dean yelling in the background and Sam responded, equally as furious. But I wasn't going to hang around to hear what they were saying. I turned the corner, safe from Sam's gun, and realized my mistake. I had run right back into the flames and the smoke was thick. The fire was closing in on me. I coughed and crouched down, trying to get some air into my lungs, but it was all smoke. The crushing blackness was all around me, stealing my air. The leaping orange flames licked at me as I backed against the wall, desperately searching for an escape. I pressed my whole body against the ground, gasping in the small bit of air that was still left. Why did it have to be fire?

"Help." I coughed to no one. "Someone help me." my voice was unrecognizable. It was a raspy fearful voice that I did not know as my own. The heat, the brightness, the smoke, it was all too much. I could feel the smoke in my lungs and everything was fuzzy. There was another explosion and burning bits of debris slammed into me, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. The entire place was black, a thick overwhelming darkness. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. I gave up completely, unable to move and just curled on the ground, praying that I would pass out from the smoke before my body went up in flames.

Just as I had given up all hope, there was a white light and a rush of wind and Sophiel was there. She grabbed me and I could hear her voice, but I couldn't comprehend what she was saying. Then she touched my forehead and I was outside, facing a different blinding light from the sun. "Hold on Tala, hold on." she cried. I couldn't tell. Was I dreaming, was she really here? I was disoriented, up was down and down was up. I attempted to fight off the wave of exhaustion threatening to consume me. Shaking my head, I tried to keep it from drowning me. But I couldn't struggle against it anymore. I closed my eyes and sank into the darkness.


	11. White

White. Everything around me was white. The walls, the ceiling, the sheets, even the disgusting gown I was wearing. I sat up with a wince of pain, looking around me, beyond the room, taking in all the details. A hospital, of course, I would be in a stupid hospital. I twisted to my left looking at the monitors, and then I yanked the IV out of my arm. "Right, chart." I muttered swinging my legs on the ground and standing up.

I almost collapsed. My left leg was throbbing and when I looked down, I saw that it was wrapped up tightly. I must have burned it pretty bad. For a moment, I was tempted to pull of the wrappings to see how bad the burn was. But I thought better of it. If I couldn't even put weight on my leg, the burn must be deep and severe. I coughed and instantly clutched at my throat. It was dry and scratchy and hard to breathe, probably due to the thick, heavy smoke caused by the explosion. Trying not to think about my leg or my throat, I limped forward and grabbed the chart off the end of my bed. A quick scan told me that it was nothing serious. I could probably get out in a couple of days.

I glanced around, hoping that Sophie would be in the room, but there was no sign of her. I sighed and put the chart back, lying down on the bed. My head was already pounding from my few steps to the end of the bed. The smoke and the fire had weakened me more than I thought. I was frustrated, and slightly annoyed, that Sophie wasn't around. She had just saved my life, why wasn't she here to see how I was doing? What use was an angel if they only showed up for the action and never stayed around for the aftermath?

I sighed deeply, for once lost on what to do next. I wanted to leave, get up and just walk out, but I really was weak, and I needed rest. Plus walking out wasn't my best bet, considering that I couldn't walk at the moment. I closed my eyes and leaned back into the pillows, allowing myself to relax. If I had my phone with me I would have called Dan or Bree, but I didn't have my phone. I didn't have anything really, I could only hope that Sophie, or even one of the boys had my things.

For the next few hours I drifted in and out of sleep. Whenever the doctor came in, I made it a point to keep my eyes shut; I just didn't feel like talking to anyone. I knew I should feel defeated, worried, scared even; I mean all my fears had just come true. But instead I felt relieved. It was finally in the open. My secret was finally out there; I wouldn't have to hesitate to use it on hunts anymore. I could finally explain why my senses were so sharp. Of course if the demons found out that would be a different story, but I could handle a few angry hunters.

As the sun started to set, I started to get more energy. They brought in some food and I scarfed it down, not realizing how hungry I was until I took that first bite. And then I finally decided that it was time to figure things out. So much had happened and everything was starting to come together. Well, except for Sam, I didn't understand that. How did he factor in? Lilith and Ruby were obviously using him, but I just couldn't figure out why or what for. I lay there, bored out of my mind, my thoughts running all over the place.

The doctor hadn't come back in, so I just lay there, growing more and more impatient. After another hour, I started to grow restless. I scanned the room a second time, looking for anything that might keep me entertained. The remote to the TV was sitting on a table nearby. I reached for it and suddenly froze, catching a glimpse of the two men standing by a window, looking in at me.

Winchesters. What were they doing here? Were they here to apologize, talk to me, kill me? Well I was pretty certain they weren't here to kill me, they were good, but not good enough to pull off a murder in a hospital. I looked into their eyes, one at a time, trying to figure out what they were thinking. Sam's face was expressionless, impossible to read. Dean on the other hand was clearly angry. I could see from my vantage point that his jaw was clenched and muscles in his arms were flexed, implying that his fists were also clinched. I held his gaze, keeping my expression neutral, before grabbing the remote and flipping on the TV. I then made a point of looking at the TV, ignoring the two hunters that continued to stare into the room at me.

I waited for my doctor to come back in. Even though I despised being taken care of, he was a nice guy. And I did need his help, it wasn't like I could walk out and talk to the two of them myself. And I wasn't sure how hospitals worked, but I didn't think they could just dart in to talk with me, or well yell at me. Finally, the man came in. he smiled at me, ready to talk and ask me questions, but before he could start, I interrupted him. "You know those two guys out there?" I said as soon as he opened his mouth to speak to me.

He nodded, probably getting an idea that I would be a difficult patient. Slowly he set down the chart and walked over towards my bed. "Yeah, they were the ones that brought you in. Jim and Mathew Trainer. They're your cousins right?" He asked. I could hear the concern creeping into his voice. He was probably worried that on top of all the smoke damage and burns, that I had hurt my head and had slight amnesia.

"Yeah, I know." I said, trying to recover. They would be using fake names, and stupid ones at that. How they had managed this job for so long without getting caught was beyond me. and then I smirked, remembering that Dean had been on the FBI's most wanted list a couple of years ago. They had been caught, probably multiple times. What idiots. I realized that the doctor was still giving me that concerned look so I snapped out of my memories and swept on. I had to be careful with this request. "I need to speak with them. One at a time. Alone if I can." I waited for a moment, wondering who had taken which alias, but then I just shrugged, "I don't care who comes in first."

He nodded, "All right, I'll go talk to them and le them decide. I'll be back in about an hour then we can talk about your injuries and release." I gave him a tight smile and he brushed out of the room. My eyes followed his every movement as he walked over and starting talking to Dean and Sam. Then the doctor walked away and the two brothers began to argue. I didn't try to hear what they were saying. It probably would have been easy to listen in, I could hear them, but I just didn't bother to pick up on the actual words. I was really not in the mood for it. I just wanted to get this over with. So I waited patiently. Finally Sam backed down, holding his hands up in surrender, and Dean shouldered past him, disappearing from my view.

* * *

I heard the door click open and Dean stormed into my room in the hospital, slamming the door behind him. He looked absolutely furious. His eyes were narrowed, and he had his hands balled into fists. I stayed calm, raising my eyebrows at him as he paced around the room. I could tell he was too agitated to stop. So I just waited, letting him get rid of some of his anger. It was strange to see him pacing, his anger was clearly showing and it would probably be frightening to most people. I could feel my anger building as well. I fixed him with a steely glare, daring him to come closer. Once my brother had compared my anger to an ice storm. Calm, sharp, and freezing to begin with, and then vicious and dangerous once it got built up.

He finally stopped right in front of me, his furious gaze boring into me. The tension in the room was building and I knew it wouldn't be long before we got into a shouting match of some kind. "Well?" He snapped, "Do you have an explanation for blatantly lying to us?"

I scoffed at him, almost laughing at the stupidity of his question. "I think I'm perfectly justified in keeping my abilities a secret. You saw what your brother did as soon as he found out." I could feel my temper rising, but for once I didn't make any attempt to control it. I let the cold anger I felt fill me up, bracing for what was coming next.

"You should have told us from the beginning!" He yelled, "How are we supposed to work with you ever again." Even though he sounded angry, I could see a deep sadness etched in his face.

For a moment I didn't know what to say, why would he be sad about this? Did he feel betrayed? We barely knew each other! "You didn't listen to what I just said, your stupid brother..." I started to say.

I didn't get to finish because he cut me off. His voice was quit, and cold. He was making such a huge attempt to keep calm, to not explode. When he spoke, just in that moment, he sounded as harsh as I was, "How can we trust you?"

I took a deep breathe in, trying to contain the icy rage I had let fill me up. How dare he say that? It was time that he knew, that I reminded him of what he was, what he had done. I wasn't going to let him get away with that insult. My voice was like ice as I replied, "How can you trust me? How can I trust you?" I growled slowly, letting all of my hatred poor through in those five words. I fixed him with my unyielding glare, daring him to react.

"What the hell are the talking about?"

"Hell?" I laughed, an angry sarcastic laugh. "What a good choice of words there Dean, especially since we've both been there." I saw shock flicker through his eyes but I didn't wait for him to react, not yet. "Four words." I snapped out. "You're better than this. Don't tell me you've forgotten Winchester."

It took him a moment but I saw that spark of recognition flood into his eyes. I felt a deep sense of satisfaction at the look of horror that crossed his face. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it again. All the while, he continued to stare at me, and I could see the memories racing across his face.

"Don't you remember Dean?" I said slowly, the icy tinge still in my voice. "Don't you remember what happened in hell?"

Dean frowned at me from where he stood by the windows. I could see the veins pulsing on his forehead and his jaw kept clenching and unclenching. I wasn't scared of him, not after hell, but rather pissed off at him. Here he stood, completely clueless as to what had happened. Had his memory been wiped clean, or did he just not care? I just waited silently for him to speak. I leaned back against my pillows, waiting for my chance to prove he was in the wrong. Dean growled low in his chest, clenching his jaw as he turned away from me, toward the windows. As he stared out them, I knew he was thinking on what had happened in hell, or at least attempting to. Suddenly, he turned to me, his temper fuming once again. "How dare you bring up hell! You and I both know that what happened there should stay there, or are you forgetting that as well?" He had come dangerously close to my bedside, his green eyes flashing with anger, with hatred. I stared him down, knowing he had more to say.

"You don't know what I went through. You don't know anything about me. Why I was down there, what happened to me when I was there, don't pretend like you know my story!" he was breathing heavily, and I could tell he was starting to panic. The memories were rushing back to him, all of them, what he had done to me, to other souls, what he had almost become. I knew he was trying to put up a shield, hiding behind his anger, trying to justify his actions. But I didn't care; I didn't want to hear it. I just wanted to break him, let him know whom he really was.

"Let me guess." I said curtly, "sold your soul for a family member, I'm going to assume Sammy, then you were in hell for what? 33 years before you broke? You're over here

Claiming how hard you have it, but you have no idea. You don't know anything about me." My voice was calm, and it sounded like ice, sharp and freezing.

"That's because you won't tell us anything. You keep everything a secret. All I know about you is you're a liar. And a monster." He snapped back. I saw that flicker run through his eyes again. He was scared, I had him backed into a corner.

"I was down there for 354 years before you started torturing me and I was down in hell for the same reason you were." I was surprised at my level voice. I hated him, so much. But I was surprisingly calm. I was just being cold, and putting all of distaste into my words and my eyes. I knew it was only a matter of time before I went off on him, so I had to get these words out while I was still calm. "You can hate me all you want. It won't excuse what you did. You're going to carry that forever. And you enjoyed it. That's the worst part. I saw that cruel smile as you carved into souls, the glimmer in your eyes when you saw blood dripping off a knife. I may be a liar, I may be half-monster, I may be overly ambitious and aggressive in my goals and actions, but guess what? I'm not the one who was a few years away from calling hell my permanent home." Then I couldn't help it, I smiled viciously at him, freezing him in place with my dark eyes, then I asked the one question I knew would destroy him, "Which one of us is really closer to being a monster?"

Finally, I saw as the anger drained from his eyes, to be replaced by a haunted look. He seemed to age ten years as he stood in front of me, all the worry and fear, the regret and self-loathing flooding into his face. His eyebrows furrowed together and he stepped back from the bed. Deep sadness was etched into every line on his face. He knew he was in the wrong, and I had left him speechless. "I should..." But I cut him off, deciding that it was time to let the storm inside of me out.

"I WAS DOWN THERE FOR 365 YEARS AND I DIDNT BREAK ONCE. NOT ONCE. AND YOU DARE TO TRY TO BLAME THIS ON ME? YOU DARE TO CALL ME A MONSTER? YOU DIDN'T CARE IN HELL. I WAS JUST ANOTHER OBJECT FOR YOU TO TAKE YOUR ANGER OUT ON. AND WHAT IS WORSE IS THAT YOU DIDN'T REMEMBER. YOU DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ME." I screamed at him, my hands balled into fists, my eyes narrowed and my icy demeanor forgotten. "YOU ENJOYED IT, SO IF ANYONE IN THIS ROOM IS A MONSTER IT'S YOU. AND I WISH YOU WERE DEAD. I WISH YOU WERE STILL IN HELL BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE YOU TRULY BELONG." I spat out the last few words.

He had backed up almost to the door, that horrified look was back on his face. He fumbled at the door handle, keeping his tortured gaze glued on my face. "I, I should go."

He stammered out. He was shaking and I could tell that in that moment, he hated himself almost as much as I hated him.

"Yes, do that." I snapped in response.

He threw open the door, and shut it behind him, avoiding eye contact on the way out. I let out of few deep breaths through my nose, relaxing. I felt satisfaction course through me. I had destroyed him. And told him exactly what he needed to hear. And when the time was right, I was going to kill him. I always kept my promises.

* * *

When Sam came in, I was surprised at his calm demeanor. I was expecting an outrage similar to his brother but he didn't even look angry.

"This is a refreshing change." I grumbled, staring at him and trying to read him. Even though he was good at keeping his emotions in check, I knew he wasn't angry which confused me even more. He just seemed, almost accepting, as he stood in front of me, probably waiting for me to start the conversation. Well if that's what he wanted, I would have no problem doing that. "Just checking, you're not going to shoot me are you?"

"What? No, I'm..." He stopped and shut his eyes tightly for a second, probably trying to figure out his next move. "Listen, I'm sorry I tried to kill you back there, you kind of just, shocked me I guess." He paused again licking his lips, "Well Dean is pissed, but I don't know, I think I understand. Everything really, it all just, it makes sense."

There were so many questions I wanted to ask. Had he told Ruby? Had he given me away? Was he just pretending? What about Dean... Would Sam be able to forgive me for killing his brother, because I would? But I didn't ask any of those; instead I just asked the one important, "so you're not, you don't care? Like, you're not mad?" that didn't make sense to me. Sam and I had always clashed, and it didn't feel right that he was being so accepting of my abilities. He would have killed me if Dean didn't stop him. so why was he being so kind now?

He shook his head. With the sad look on his face and his eyes narrowed, he looked like a puppy "No I'm honestly not. I thought I would be but we're so similar now. I mean, we're basically the same, like we both are monsters in a way." he managed to get out, staring down at his feet as he tried to get the words out in the open. I stared at him, shocked at what he was saying, but he wasn't finished, "You know, it's good to know that I'm not the only one who struggles with a darkness inside of me."

Darkness. Please. My abilities weren't darkness. They weren't anything like his demon blood chugging that he seemed to enjoy so much. I knew he was trying to understand to compare us, but it was frustrating to hear. "I'm disappointed Sam." I said softly, keeping my emotions in check, "there's one big difference between you and me. I don't choose to be who I am, I was born with it, and it's a part of me. I understand that you were in a way born with it, but you keep feeding it. You feed your monster, and let it grow. I use mine to save lives; and I keep it in check." I saw Sam nod slowly, not really understanding what I was getting at, so I tried to sum it up for him, "That's the difference between us Sam. You can't stop, and you keep doing it, you're on a dark path. I can stop changing whenever I want; I mean I did it for a month with you and your brother. I can control it completely, you can't. It's not a monster, it's ability, and yours is just a complete, consuming monster inside of you. That's why I can never trust you."

For a long moment he just looked at me, sadness in his gaze. He seemed on the verge of telling me something huge but he seemed to change his mind at the last minute and just gave me an awkward nod, "I don't have a choice anymore. I guess I'll leave you to rest. When you're ready to check out we can all talk outside and figure out where to go from here." he said, before waking away towards the door. He put his hand on the door handle, then sighed and turned back to me, "Believe me I would give anything to stop, to give it all up, but I can't."

He opened the door and slid out, closing it gently behind him. I opened my mouth to call him back, and then thought better of it, "Well Sam," I whispered, "believe me. I would never give up my power."

* * *

Three days later I was cleared to go. I was mostly all healed up, my throat was still scratchy from the smoke, and I needed crutches for my burnt leg but other than that I felt fine. I signed some papers, an finally was free to go. I stepped outside into the fresh air and looked around for the brothers. They were standing over to the left of the entrance, huddled under a tree, trying to stay warm from the icy weather. I didn't hesitate; I leaned on my crutches and headed over to them.

I could just feel the awkwardness radiating through the air as we all stood outside the hospital. At least I wasn't feeling threatened by them, not anymore. Dean was refusing to meet my eyes, and Sam was seeing me in a new light. We shared something in common now, and he could understand that. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder, shifting uncomfortably.

Sam broke the silence, "so, what now?"

Dean just shook his head, looking down at his feet. I had awoken some of his darkest secrets and most well hidden memories. He was probably struggling with all that he was remembering. Good. I thought haughtily, he deserves it.

I decided it was best to just talk to Sam, and ignore the older brother. "I can come with you and help, or I can go off on my own. I mean, we do work well together, but you did try to kill me. But all I know is that I want to stop Lilith just as much as you do. So if you want my help, I'm offering it. If you don't want it, I'll leave now."

Sam and Dean exchange a glance, have I mentioned how much I hated it when they do that, and then they looked back at me.

"Let's go then." Sam said, tossing me something small. I caught it and found myself looking at the keys to my challenger.

"You have my stuff?" I asked suddenly, feeling excitement course through me,

"Yeah we brought it all here for you. It's all in your trunk." Sam responded.

I could help but smile, glad that I had not lost anything of physical value.

I quickly hopped over to my car over to my car; glad to see it was still in good condition. I tried not to wince in pain as I knocked the crutch against my leg; I couldn't show any weakness around them, especially after my standoff earlier with Dean. I stopped and turned back to them, "so where to?" I asked curtly, keeping a business like composure.

"West Virginia." Sam replied after a brief pause. "Possible demon case, or maybe just a lead, but it's something."

I nodded in response and slid into the car, closing my eyes for a moment. I was furious at myself for agreeing to work with them. But there was no turning back now. I sighed once more before putting my keys in the ignition an starting the car. Things had just gotten a lot more dangerous and incredibly complicated. I could only pray that we could stop Lilith in time, and then I could leave and never bother with them again.

* * *

_**Sorry it's been so long since my last update! And I'm also sorry that this chapter isn't that great, lot's of dialogue, no action, but I felt like it was important to include it, don't worry though the last few chapters will be action packed! There's only 3 chapters left so it's almost finished! I should have the next chapter up this week, and I'm actually planning on finishing this story in January, so I'll try to finish it all up for you guys soon! Thank you for all of the new followers and please, please, please review! This is my first full fanfiction so I love hearing feedback! Thank you for reading and I hope you're enjoying it! **_


	12. Exposed

I walked through the woods, enjoying being back in nature. Snow lay heavily on the ground and a cold breeze ruffled my fur. It had been nearly a month since the fire and everything was going great. I had healed completely, well with a few new scars, but other than that I was doing pretty well. Dean and I basically skirted around each other. We worked together on cases and ignored each other in the little moments between. To my surprise, Sam and I got along much better now. We hardly argued and we agreed on most things, except when Ruby was involved. It was an interesting change of pace not to be clashing with either of them.

Sophiel had stayed absent after the fire, which annoyed me. She should have at least checked up on me. Or maybe she could read my dark thoughts and wanted nothing to do with me. I stopped my brisk pace for a moment to stretch my legs out on the ground. I had been spending more and more time as a wolf lately. It was so much easier than being a human. Plus it was a good way for me to exercise and get away from the Winchesters. We were in town for an interesting case. People weren't dying, and Sam suspected it was because there was no reaper. We had just arrived a day ago, and the brothers had been hitting up the Internet all day. I had gotten bored and decided to go "workout". I don't think they even noticed that I was missing.

It was strange, with Dean; I hated him so much a month ago. All I wanted was to kill him. But now, things were different. Maybe it was because we weren't talking, but I was starting to see him in a new light. He was so much like me. We could basically be the same person. And I had to admit; I was starting to like him. He could be great fun during a case. Not to mention he was a very attractive individual. Not like anything could ever happen between us, too much history there….

I started running again, extending my stride until I was running at full speed. I sprang across a small, frozen creek and kept going, darting in and out of trees. I jumped over a fallen tree as well, and lost myself in the run. The icy wind and the bare trees felt like home. I stopped once more when I reached the top of a large hill, looking out at the wilderness I was running through. The snow and ice that decorated the landscape transformed the forest into a mystical land. The ice glimmered in shades of blue, grey and white. The sun glinted off the snow, making the woods sparkle. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.

I was too focused on the landscape to notice the danger nearby, and the force hit me before I knew what was happening. I was flung backwards and I lost control. I tried to regain my balance, but I couldn't. For a minute my feet scrabbled on the slope as I rolled ungracefully down the hill. I collided with a tree and came to a halt at the base of the hill. With a gasp of shock, I slowly pulled myself to my feet. I winced as I flexed my shoulder, which had rammed into the tree. I took a deep breath, shoving away my shock, and glanced around for the source of the power.

Nothing. I glanced around a few more times, checking to make certain, before turning back into my human form. My heart was racing, not just from the run. Who, or what, had just attacked me. The woods were my safe place, and being a wolf was also a protection for me. I had never been attacked like that as a wolf. I was in utter disbelief over what had just happened. And the worst was that I didn't know what happened. I had no clue where that force had come from, and that unnerved me.

"Well, it looks like the rumors are true." A cold voice drawled out from behind me. I turned quickly, pulling my knife out, ready to attack. But I was too slow. Before I could do anything, even get a look at the man; the same force shoved me backwards against the tree. A demon. I should have known.

The guy walked closer, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn't place it. He was a little shorter than Dean, and he spoke slowly, lingering over each word. He was older, well, possessing an older guy, and he also had a cruel light in his eyes. He strode over to me, walking slowly, clearly enjoying the moment. My heart seemed to skip a beat. The way he was approaching me, the way he smiled, and the way he spoke. It couldn't be him. _Please no. _I thought, praying that I was wrong.

"I missed this." He said, leaning on the tree with one hand. His smiling face was a foot from mine. I resisted the urge to look away; instead I glared right back at him. "It's weird not seeing you everyday. I mean, I know you more than anyone else in the world. We spent centuries together, you and I." I knew it, I knew who he was. I felt a rush of anger. He was possibly the only demon that I hated more than Lilith. What he had done to me… I leaned forward, wanting to attack, but the force yanked me straight back. The demon smirked and all of a sudden fear washed over me. He knew. Alastair knew my secret. This couldn't be happening. Even my luck couldn't be this bad.

I instantly started rushing through different scenarios in my head. I had to find a way out of this. I heard Alastair say something else, but I ignored him, too focused on my escape plan. All I had to do was distract him. Pinning someone against a tree wasn't hard for a demon, but I knew it took concentration. If I could manage to distract him for a few minutes then maybe, just maybe, I could get away. At least I would have no problem running away, as fast as possible. He had seen me as a wolf; I had changed back with him watching me. My secret was out. I may as well use my abilities to my advantage at this point. Now all that I needed was a substantial distraction…

"You may be wondering how I found out about you." He said, walking in a circle around me. I ignored him, still trying to work out my escape plan. He wept on, not too concerned about drawing a reaction from me, "Lilith is such a helpful demon, even if that bitch bosses me around. Rumors fly around and when I heard the rumor about you, well I just had to check in on it!" Did he ever shut up? Man he was annoying.

The sun was slowly sinking behind the hill, casting a shadow over me. I could use the dim light to my advantage. Plus I knew how Alastair worked; I knew his methods and what he enjoyed. This would be easy. I raised my head, returning his smile with one of my own. "You know, I'm not alone here. Not this time." I saw a flicker of uncertainty go through his eyes, but I pressed on, "Your student's here. It's funny, I'm pretty certain you failed with him. See, ever heard the statement, 'Your enemies enemy is your friend?' Well, I have to make a choice now. Which one of you is really my friend, and which one is my true enemy." I said, arching my eyebrows and deliberately trying to draw a reaction from him.

He stepped back from me, nostrils flaring. He opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him. I could feel his force weakening. He was distracted, wanting to go after Dean. "I mean I would be perfectly satisfied if you went after Dean. Don't you remember, you tried so hard to get me to break in hell, and honestly I would be willing to break, for Dean? You want to teach me? Let me learn on the Winchester brothers." My voice was cold, and I put as much cruelty in it as I could handle. I felt myself slide down the tree, until my feet were planted firmly on the ground. He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice, "I'm making my choice Alastair. Lead me into darkness. I want to destroy them. And I'm asking you to help me."

"It's too late for you to learn." He said slowly, almost as if he had considered it, "I will destroy both of you, until you're right back where you belong. In the fire, screaming for eternity." He turned to me, hand raised, but I wasn't there anymore. For a brief moment, confusion flickered over his face, before I lunged and drove one of my knives deep into his back. Yanking it out, I turned and ran for my life. I could hear Alastair cursing behind me but I didn't stick around to listen. Instead I pushed on faster, desperate to get to the inn to warn the brothers.

I sided to a halt right at the edge of the woods, trying to catch my breath. The demon was nowhere to be seen and there was no evidence that he had followed me. I took two steps out of the woods when I froze, the realization dawning on me. Lilith. He had heard the news from Lilith. That could only mean one thing. Ruby, that bitch, that evil manipulative little shit, had told her. Then I connected the dots even farther. This was all Sam's fault. I clenched my fists to my side, anger and hatred rushing through me. He was going to pay for this.

* * *

I stormed inside the hotel room, slamming the door behind me. I scanned around and noticed Sam sitting on the couch, hacking away at his computer. Dean was nowhere to be seen. Perfect. Just what I needed.

The door slamming shut had attracted his attention and he turned to look at me, a confused expression on his face. I breathed deeply, remaining composed as I walked over to confront him.

"Did you tell Ruby?" I demanded trying to keep my voice calm.

"Tell her what?" Sam replied, slowly shutting his computer. His voice was guarded, as if he knew what was coming.

"You know what. Did you tell her about me; about my… abilities?"

"Yes I did, okay. But you can trust her. I promise you. All she's ever done is save us. She would never betray me like that." He stood up and walked over towards me, one hand held out in front of him in a desperate attempt to comfort me.

It took a deep breath, trying to control the white-hot anger that was coursing through me. I couldn't believe he was saying this. I stepped away from him, curling my lip in fury. He was nothing but a fool if he still trusted Ruby. "She's a demon Sam!" I snapped out. "Just because you trust her doesn't mean that I trust her. You should never have told Ruby about what I can do. You betrayed me! This was MY secret. You found out on accident, the whole world doesn't need to know!"

"She's more than a friend to me, and it's not like I went around shouting it to the world! I just told her, no one else so get off my back. And here you are speaking of trust, but how are we supposed to trust you?" He fired back, "You show up out of nowhere, refuse to tell us anything about your past and then we find out that you're a skin walker. You have not given me any reason to trust you. And you're the one calling me and my friend a traitor?"

He had just called a demon his friend. I couldn't wrap my mind around that idea. I walked right up to him, and stared at him in disbelief. He just glared right back at me; "I'd trust Ruby over you any day." He said slowly.

For a moment, I was shocked. But it didn't last long. My anger took over. Quick as a flash, I grabbed his wrist and whipped him around. Grabbing the collar of his shirt, I shoved him backwards with all the force I could muster. Before he could defend himself, I pressed my forearm against his throat, pinning him against the wall. His eyes were wide in shock. I guess he had forgotten how fast I could move.

"What's going on here?" for once, I welcomed Dean's interruption. I wasn't quite sure what my next move was going to be, and it was probably best that I didn't kill Sam. I still needed him. I turned my head around to meet Dean's eyes, still holding Sam against the wall. Dean had just entered the room, and he was staring, confused, at the scene that was presented to him. His eyes swept across the room, probably wondering if we had wrecked it. He looked slightly relieved when he realized that everything was in place and nobody was hurt. His eyes met mine and he raised his eyebrows, silently demanding an explanation.

"He told her. He told Ruby." I hissed, not trying to hide my anger and disgust. "Now because of him, they all know. Every single demon out there knows my weakness. Every single one of them will be looking to tear me apart and now they know how to find me. They know everything and it's all your brothers fault." I snapped out the last part. Dean had to understand.

I had let my guard down, and Sam shoved me off him. I took a few steps back as Sam turned and moved over towards his brother. He glowered at me as he walked across the room, almost like he was daring me to attack him when Dean was around. I scoffed at the idea. Even I wasn't that stupid. Dean would probably pull a gun on me. And I knew what was going to happen. He was going to take Sam's side. Because Sam was family, and to Dean, family always came first.

Dean looked back and forth between us. Then he turned to me, "Ruby wouldn't betray Sam, as much as it pains me to say this, I trust Ruby." He glanced at Sam for a moment. Sam smirked at me, pleased that his brother had taken his side in the matter. Dean switched his attention back to me. He hesitated before he continued, "You can't keep this a secret forever Tala. A minor demon must have seen you change or something, don't blame my brother for this. It's not his fault. It was just bound to happen eventually. And how do you even know that the word is out? There's no proof."

"No proof?" I growled softly, "Well there's no use telling you now. I have plenty of proof that this is all because of Ruby. But you don't care; you just have to always defend your baby brother. I knew you would take his side." I said coolly. I snatched my knife off the desk and strode out of the room. I slammed the door as hard as I could behind me. Dean yelled my name, but I didn't care. I took a few more steps towards the forest behind the motel. Then I started running. As I ran, I felt the familiar ripple through my skin until I was running on all fours through the woods. As a wolf, I felt powerful and unstoppable. But I knew what was going to happen now. My greatest strength had become my greatest weakness, and it was all because of Sam. Or Ruby. It didn't matter. I was betrayed, letdown, and now I was in trouble. They knew, and they were coming after me. All they needed now was just a little bit of silver to weaken me. Then they would probably torture me. Especially with Alastair and Lilith still being out there. Those two would never let me die a quick death. They would take their time.

And then there was Sam, the way he had smiled at me. The way he has been so proud of himself. I thought we understood each other, and we did, at least for a bit. But then he just kept getting darker and I was so frustrated that I couldn't even talk to him anymore. He had told me, less than a month ago, that he didn't hate me, but this; only someone who wanted me dead would dare stoop to his level. I shook my head and started to run a little faster. I pushed the worries to the back of my mind and just let the wind running through my fur and the strength I felt rushing through me calm me down. I sprinted until I reached a small clearing. As soon as I got there, I paced to the middle panting.

"Damn it Sophie." I snapped, slamming my fist into a tree trunk. "Where the hell are you when I need you?"

* * *

The moon was high in the sky when Sophie finally appeared. I tried to hide my frustration. I had been siting out in the woods since sunset, and now, hours later, she finally decided to show up? And she didn't look happy either. She gave a look full of disappointment. I scoffed and rolled my eyes away from her. How dare she judge me? She never did anything for me. If anyone had the right to be mad, it was I. "Where have you been?" I snapped, my frustration spilling over. In case you didn't notice, I kind of need you the past month."

She looked at me, concern in her gaze. "I am an angel." She said softly, "My duty is to heaven first, I can not spend all my time helping you."

"Right, you only show up to give me guidance, and tell me I'm doing everything wrong." I muttered, "You know, I thought angels were different. I must say I'm disappointed."

Her eyes sparkled dangerously for a moment, and I realized I could be in trouble. Angels could do a lot of damage when they felt like it. Then the flash of anger faded and she just took a deep breath. "You need to get back. Dean and Sam are playing a dangerous game."

"See, you're doing it again!" I cried out, "My whole world is crumbling around me. My secret that I have managed to keep for centuries is now out in the open. I call for you because I need help. You come, and you're more worried about the people who betrayed me!" I tried to put all my hurt into those words. I trusted her. And here she was, telling me what to do again.

"I know I can't control you Tala. You are a free spirit, more so than most. You're heart belongs in the wild. You don't just fight for good. You fight to survive. I can't stand here and command you to return. But I will say this. The Winchester's are in trouble. Just tonight they had a run-in with Alastair. That could have been avoided if you had stayed to warn them. But you let your foolish anger get the best of you. Now they have formulated a very dangerous plan. You must return to them, convince them not to move forward with this idea." She looked at me for a long time, her eyes narrowed. "Please Tala, return to them. Help them."

I remembered the look in Dean's eyes when he had sided with Sam. I recalled Sam's triumphant glare when Dean had sided with him. I glared up at Sophie. "You can't control me, you're right." I said coolly. "I won't help them. Not this time. This is their fight."

I could tell she was shocked, but I didn't care. I had never flat-out refused like this. "Tala…" she started again, but I shook my head.

"No." I said stubbornly, "I always do what you ask of me, but no. I'll help them again soon, but for now, I just need to stay away from them. I'll take a few days to cool off. But I won't help them finish this case."

"A seal will be broken! Please, put aside your hatred, put aside your hurt. We all need you."

"I don't care." I said curtly. Then I shoved past her. She stood frozen, shock clouding her gaze. I guess that she never expected me to be this cold. I felt myself change back into a wolf as I marched to the edge of the clearing. I glared back at her, my dark green eyes meeting her blue ones. She no longer looked shocked, now she looked hurt, and dejected. I growled low in my throat and then took off, vanishing into the woods.

* * *

I didn't return for nearly a week. Dean had called me a couple times, but each time I let it go to voicemail. I was too busy spending the week in the woods, doing what wolves do. I didn't turn back once the entire time. It was really amazing to just be free for once. And honestly, I had considered not going back at all. Why should I be responsible for stopping the apocalypse? It wasn't my fault that the seals had been broken. it was Dean's. He should be the one responsible for stopping it. I knew that my brother would be incredibly disappointed in me, and my sister would just be sad to hear this. But hadn't I done enough? I had been in hell for over three hundred years.

But a part of me knew I couldn't just live away from my problems. I never ran from my problems. I always faced them head on. This wasn't going to be different. So after five days in the woods, I finally texted Dean and asked where they were. Something must have happened, because he didn't even ask where I had been. He told me to meet them a few towns over at a bar. I walked out of the woods slowly, sad to be leaving it behind. Then I jumped in my car and drove off to meet up with them.

Both of the guys were sitting at a table, looking solemn. I walked up to them, knowing that something horrible must have happened. "What happened?" I asked, pulling a chair up to the table.

Dean took a sip of his hand on his forehead. "A friend of ours died helping us three nights ago." He said flatly. "Nothing any of us could have done."

Sam was giving me an accusing glare, but I ignored him. This was his fault. If he hadn't of told Ruby, I would have stayed in town. To my surprise, Sam didn't say anything though. I knew he wanted to. He probably had hundreds of curses in his head.

"I'm sorry." I said softly. I hesitated for a moment. I didn't want to pile on, but I had to know what happened. "The seal, was it broken?"

"No." Sam muttered, looking down at his hands. I expected him to say more, something along the lines of "no thanks to you", but he didn't. I had never seen him look so uncertain. Something must have happened with his powers, or demon blood, whatever, that was causing him to rethink things. Finally. It was harsh, but if the death of a friend finally got him to open his eyes, and see what he had become, I was almost glad I hadn't been involved.

"What about Alastair?" Dean looked at me, surprised, so I quickly filled him in. "Sophie visited me when I was gone. She told me that you two had a run in with Alastair."

Dean nodded, his lips pressed tight together, "Alastair has been captured. I don't think we need to worry about him for a little while."

I smiled "I'm glad to hear it."

"Wait a minute." Sam said suddenly, "How did you know that your secret had been exposed? Did you run into a demon that day?"

I shrugged, no point in hiding it from them now. "Yes, Alastair attacked me in the woods. I was planning on telling you but you weren't in a listening mood. Neither of you were. I thought it best to just take the week off."

The two boys gawked at me, clearly stunned that I had failed to warn them of Alastair's presence. "You can't blame me for this." I said. "Lilith is still out there, and I plan on taking her out. I'm back now, and willing to work with you, both of you. I don't plan on vanishing again. Now the real question is, are you willing to work with me?"

Silence. I could tell that they both felt betrayed that I hadn't told them about Alastair. I just sat there, waiting, calm and relaxed. Before either of them could say anything, Sam's phone starting ringing. "It's Ruby." He said, snatching it up and walking out of the bar.

I looked across at Dean, and then slowly held my hand out towards him. "What do you say Dean? Partners? Just until Lilith is dead."

He reached across and shook my hand, "Partners." He agreed, a soft smile playing on his lips, "Now let's go see what Ruby wants."


	13. Hunted

_**Wow I am so sorry guys, I had this chapter finished for such a long time, but I've been so swamped. I had swim conference, and spring break/job searching, then midterms, and it's just been crazy! But I am almost 90% certain the story will be finished tonight, just doing some last editing on the final chapter. Sorry again and I hope you like this chapter, and the end of the fic :) Thanks for putting up with me. **_

* * *

The warm sun beat down on my face, and the air was crisp and cold. A thin layer of snow still covered the ground even though it was almost march. I sat next to dean in wolf form, watching as Sam stood next to the car talking to a woman. Ruby. Sam had told us about the lead and Ruby's plan. This time I had flat out refused to go along with it. And Dean had agreed with me. Of course, Sam being the tall, obnoxious, stubborn shit he was decided to go alone. After a lot of arguing and cursing, Dean and I decided to stay behind and take the week off to relax while Sam was out with his demon hooker. I watched through narrowed green eyes as Ruby backed the car out and drove off. I could tell Dean was furious that Sam was following Ruby's lead. He was also too stubborn to go with him.

"So." Dean said awkwardly after Sam drove off. "What now?"

I looked at him, reading his expressions. I had to admit, Dean was fun to be around. We were very similar, and he was also quite the looker. I could only imagine what Elvis would say if he knew I was falling for Dean. Or my family for that matter. My brother would call me an idiot and Bree would probably go on her little "follow your heart" gushy gross speech. In other words, I wasn't going to tell anyone that I had a crush on a Winchester.

I glanced around before shifting back into a human and offering my hand to pull Dean to his feet. "Looks like we have the week off." I said, "How about we get a nice meal that's not microwaved."

We settled for a small diner on the edge of the town. I noticed that Dean had his gun with him, and I had my knives. Even though we weren't on a case, I knew Dean didn't trust anyone. He was certain a case would find us. I was hoping he was right. All I had done since coming back was case after case after case, just the way I liked it. I knew Dean felt differently. Even though he kept saying it was what he wanted to do, I knew that was a lie. I didn't want to take a break from hunting; I enjoyed the thrill of a hunt, and the mystery of a case. I liked saving lives and destroying evil. But I could tell that Dean just wanted a break from it, especially after his recent run in with Alastair.

I sat down at the table across from Dean. I started to drum my nails awkwardly on the table. I didn't know what to say around him. Things were already awkward enough being stuck with just him. He cleared his throat and started to look around the diner. He looked at other people, the door, back into the kitchen, anywhere that would keep his eyes away from me.

His eyes were dark and stormy, and I knew he was worried about his brother. He still didn't know about the demon blood; I could only imagine what would happen when he found out the truth. I hesitated for a moment, what should I say? I couldn't comfort him, or assure him that Sam would be fine. I had always been poor with my feelings and sympathizing with others. Maybe I could just strike up a normal conversation.

"So, dean…" I started to say, but before I could get any other words out, the waitress arrived. She was blonde and incredibly annoying, and I could see Dean eyeing her as she took our order. For some reason, I felt myself growing jealous. Dean was paying more attention to her, and not to the person right in front of him. Why couldn't he understand that I was beautiful and readily to put our past behind us?

"Dean." I said again, trying to break the awkward silence that had resumed since the waitress had walked away. "I think it's time we talked."

He looked at me, licking his lips, "What do you mean?" he said slowly, sensing a trap.

"I mean, we need to talk about us. About moving on, and what we can make of our past."

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, still refusing to meet my eyes. "I am NOT going to talk about this." He snapped after a few minutes.

I ignored his wish and started into what I needed to say, "You have to admit Dean. You royally fucked up in hell. I mean I understand, I was tempted to say yes. And maybe it was different for me. I mean you just had Sam to hold on to, I had my brother and my sister, plus a really close friend. Trust me when I say I want to hate you for what you did." I paused for a moment, taking in his reaction. He had finally looked up, meeting my gaze. I took a deep breath before continuing, "in fact, a large part of me was planning on killing you as soon as I got the chance. But that was before I started working with you, before I realized what kind of person you were. Now I realize that you are just like me. You have made so many mistakes and yet here you are, putting it all on the line to save the world. So maybe it is time I forgive you. We need to work together on this, and I'm willing to do it."

After I said all I needed, there was an awkward silence. Our waitress brought us our food and drinks, and still we sat in silence. Finally, I rolled my eyes and snapped out, "I'm trying to have a conversation here you asshole, and I'd like it if you respond."

"You're right, I'm not responding because I don't know what to say. How do I forgive myself? And how are you forgiving me? I don't deserve that. You _should _hate me, and I just don't understand."

"You idiot." I scoffed and leaned across the table, grabbing his hand. "You can't be so hard on yourself. I've done some horrible things, I basically killed my mother." Dean's eyes grew wide at that but I swept on, "And I never told my sister the truth. But I don't dwell on that; I don't want to forget to live. So accept my forgiveness and allow yourself to have another friend in your life."

He closed his eyes for a long moment, and I let go of his hand, waiting. "All right then." He said softly, "What do friends talk about?"

I smiled brightly this was more like it. "You could always tell me embarrassing stories of Sam. That's a good place to start."

And so we talked, and laughed, and joked for the entire time. It felt so good to finally have a friend in the world. And when I looked at him, I no longer saw the man from hell. I saw a new man, bright and friendly, but fierce when he needed to be.

* * *

It happened when we were walking back from the diner.

Dean and I had gotten to the motel and he was digging through his pocket, trying to find the keys, when I heard the footsteps. Something was wrong. "Get down!" I yelled at Dean. Not a moment to soon. I heard a gunshot, and Dean and I both darted behind a car. Then there was a second and a third shot. I cursed under my breath. Why hadn't I brought my gun?

Silence fell after the fourth shot. "I'll check it out." Dean whispered. Before I could call him an idiot he had poked his head up. Then he stepped out into the open, looking around with narrowed eyes. I heard the fifth shot then, and saw Dean fall down in pain. Quick as a flash he scrambled back behind the car, examining his wound.

Thankfully it was just a shallow cut where the bullet had grazed his arm. It was bleeding a lot, but that was to be expected. "Not out of bullets." he groaned as he tore off the bottom fo his shirt to wrap around his arm.

"Get to the car as soon as I dart out." I said, throwing out a spur of the moment plan. He nodded, to weary to argue, and I changed into a wolf. With a snarl I leapt out and faced the attacker, trying to memorize everything about him. His face, his height, his weight, his eye and hair color… My blood turned cold when I saw the tattoo on his arm, the man was a hunter! He raised the gun once more and continued firing, not giving me any time to think. I ran and out of the corner of my eye I saw Dean jump in the car and back out. As soon as the man stopped to reload the gun, I sprinted and dove in the car.

As we peeled away, I could hear him shouting, "You can't run from us Tala! Not anymore."

* * *

We returned to the same diner for lunch that day. But this time, we weren't joking and laughing. Now we were tense and on-edge. I kept all my senses alert for any sign of the hunter, and Dean kept one hand on his gun at all times. We ordered our food and ate in silence. Dean kept his eyes on the door, and I swept my gaze around all the tables. I knew he was going to show up again, but so far I didn't see the man who had attacked us. He had been blonde, average height, with deep blue eyes. The man had been very muscular and he had a sharp angular face. He had also been incredibly handsome, and easy to recognize. But I didn't see him in the diner, so I allowed myself to relax.

Dean didn't though. Probably since he had been shot. He kept staring at the door, asking me if I saw anything every minute or so. Finally I couldn't take it, "He's not here." I snapped furiously, "I would be able to smell him okay? Just relax."

He sucked in his lip and turned away from the door, Dean started to lean back in his chair, and then, all of a sudden, he tensed up. "Tala..." he warned. I turned and followed his gaze. Two guys had just stood up from a booth and were walking towards us. I moved my hand to my waist, where I had my knife strapped. They both had there hands down in their pockets, and were glaring at us as they picked their way across the restaurant.

It was a good thing we were prepared. As they passed by the table the leading man whipped outa knife and lunged at me. I twisted and grabbed his wrist, while simultaneously pulling out my own knife. Dean knocked over his chair and tackled the second guy and they went rolling away out of sight. The entire diner exploded in chaos. I heard the guests screaming and people went running out, fearing for their life. I kept a firm grip on the man's wrist, trying to force him to drop the knife. I put more pressure on his tendon and he let out a cry of pain, dropping the blade. Unfortunately, I had forgotten about his left hand. I jumped back, just barely avoiding the slash from his other knife.

My anger boiled over and we both went on the attack. I saw so many opportunities to kill him, but I hesitated. I didn't need to kill him to win the fight. He was, after all, a hunter. And with the upcoming storm, we needed as many hunters as we could get. I focused all of my energy on disarming him, and trying to block his advances.

I heard Dean let out a yell of pain to my right. I twisted and felt the blade slash through my arm. I hardly registered the pain. Instead, I launched my knife at Dean's attacker. The guy dove to the ground just in time, narrowly avoiding getting a knife lodged in his skull. I turned back to the man who had been attacking me, grabbing and twisting his arm once more, forcing him to drop his second knife. I punched him in the throat and he rolled out of my way. The two guys exchanged a look, before they darted out of the now-empty diner. I watched them go, my hands clenched by my side. Part of me wanted to go after them. How dare they attack me for no reason? I growled low in my throat, trying to control my rage. Why shouldn't I kill them? I could chase them down as a wolf out in the open. It would be pegged as a wild animal attack. I could imagine chasing them down, digging my teeth into their soft flash, ripping into their throats… Deans grumble of pain brought me back to reality. My rage faded and the blood stopped roaring in my ears. I took a deep breath, pushing away my bloodlust. I would have to get them later; right now my friend needed help.

"Are you all right?" He gasped out, standing up and leaning on the table for support. His leg and chest had been sliced open. I could tell that the cut on his leg was pretty deep. It was right above his knee, and blood was soaking into his jeans. I couldn't really get a good look at it though, since most of the wound was covered. Thankfully, the cut on his chest had already stopped bleeding. It was long, but not deep. I did a quick glance at my arm, relieved to see that the cut was deep, but small, and wouldn't hinder me in any fights. Dean's leg might slow him down some, but it would be fine in a few days. We had a lot of explaining for when Sam came back…

I smiled and let him lean on me for support. "Let's get back to the hotel and get cleaned up." I said, trying to organize and come up with a plan. This was a bad situation but at least I wasn't alone, which was strange. Just a month ago I had promised to kill him and now I couldn't imagine having anyone else by my side. I met his gaze, waiting for a response. He must have been in a lot of pain because he didn't respond, other than a nod. He just leaned on me and let me help him back to the car.

* * *

I took another sip of the water, and then leaned back into the pillows, relaxing. Dean was on the bed next to me, flipping through the channels looking bored. It had been nearly a week, and Sam had to be on his way back soon. The man who had shot at us, and the two who had attacked us in the diner were still in town. They had tried to kill me a few more times already, but thankfully they were too stupid to be successful. So far Dean and I had thwarted them over and over again.

All of a sudden, I couldn't help myself. Dean looked so annoyed, and I knew exactly why. I smiled; it just wouldn't be right if I didn't make fun of him. My lips began to twitch and I started laughing, shaking my head at how ridiculous he looked. He was just an overgrown five year old sulking at the fact that he had been injured.

"What is so hilarious?" He grumbled out.

I laughed at him again "It's funny that I'm the one being hunted and so far you have a gunshot wound and two stab wounds and I just have a small knife cut." He rolled his eyes at me and shoved me away. Then he stood up and grabbed his coat. "Hey, where are you going?" I said, surprised at his sudden change in plans.

He looked at me and smiled. "I won't be long, just in case these bastards have managed to track our calls, I'm going to head across the street and see if I can borrow someone's phone. I want to see what's up with Sam." He grabbed the keys and walked out before I could say anything else.

A few moments after he left, it started happening. My vision got blurry and abs cramped up. "Dean, wait, something's wrong." I gasped out, clutching my stomach in pain. But he had already darted out the door. I tried to follow him, but I had to stop and lean against the wall, trying to support myself. My head was pounding and I felt weak. The world started spinning around me and I was breathing heavy. Then the trembling started in my muscles. I sat down on the floor, shaking. My phone! I had to call him. It was sitting by the door on a desk.

I summoned all my strength and managed to stand.

Poison. It had to be poison. I didn't know what kind, but it was working fast. I took a step, keeping my eyes fixed on the goal. One step after the other. Crossing the small room felt like running a marathon. It could have been days before my hands finally closed around my phone. My hands were shaking so much that I could hardly send the message. Just four simple words to Dean. Help.

I heard the door creak open and I lazily turned my head to look. My heart sank when the three men stepped into the room. The same three who had tried to shoot me. The same three that had attacked me multiple times over the last few days.

"You gotta be kidding me." I said weakly, shaking my head, and taking a shaky step backwards. One of the guys leaned forward and smacked the phone out of my hands. I saw the words "message sent" flash across the screen and I felt a brief sense of relief. I scrambled back, and tripped barely staying on my feet "Stay away." I growled as I turned into a wolf.

The three of them surrounded me, backing me into the corner. I snapped at them when they came to close, but the poison was still working at me. I didn't know if it had been enough to kill me, but it was taking all of my strength. My muscles were still trembling and tightening, I knew it was only a matter of time before they became paralyzed.

The blonde swiped at me with his knife. I snapped at him but I was way too slow. While I was distracted, one of the others snagged me on the back with his knife. I swiveled my head back and forth, jaws open, panting hard, trying to hold them off for as long as I could.

"The mighty predator." The blonde taunted me. He leaned forward and kicked me. My legs gave out completely and I collapsed on my side. He held the knife up to my face and then slowly dug it into my leg, going from my shoulder down to my foot. I gasped, but managed to keep my yelp of pain inside. "I knew" he said shaking his head, smiling, "this was a good idea."

His two friends laughed behind him. I looked up at him, my lip curling in fury. I had no strength, and I couldn't defend myself with tooth and claw. But I still had my voice so I changed back into my human form. The lead guy, I think his name was Blake, held the knife in front of my face. "The poison isn't meant to kill. It's just a simple paralytic. Lasts a few minutes, no more."

He smirked, drawing the cold blade down my face to my neck. I pulled back, glaring daggers at him. Blake just followed my small movement, trapping me between the wall and the blade, "we wanted to kill you ourselves." Blake continued his little monologue.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, and instead I let out a small laugh, "you call yourself a hunter?" I breathed deeply in, "Go on then. I'd like to see you do it. Watch a fellow hunter bleeding to death at your hands. You'll burn for it." He pushed the knife closer, cutting into my skin and I sneered at him, "Come on then! Let's see who's really the monster."

Blake hesitated for a moment, thinking on my words. While he was frozen, I heard the door swing open And Dean came charging in. He sprinted over to where I lay on the ground, his eyes filled with rage. "Leave her alone!" Dean screamed. He tackled Blake out of the way before turning his attention to the other two.

Knowing that I was safe for the moment, I propped myself up, using the wall to support me. I watched as dean fought the three guys. Come on Dean, I thought, kill them. They deserve it.

But he didn't. I tried to hide my frustration as he continued to fight the guys without using lethal force. He knocked out two of the guys, before his attention to Blake. My blood was roaring in my ears, I could feel the poison fading out but I couldn't afford to leap into a fight. But I wanted to, I wanted to jump in and rip their sorry throats out. I realized I was trembling in fury. Then Dean finally seemed to pick up on my need for revenge, he shoved Blake back and whipped out his gun, pressing it to his head and pulling back the trigger.

"Pull the trigger." I hissed, finally finding my voice. "Do it Dean."

He turned to look at me, keeping his finger on the trigger. He looked scared of me, his eyes wide in horror at my cold command to murder the man in front of him.

"No." He said slowly, lowering the gun. Blake made a desperate move but Dean was ready for it, he turned and slammed the but of the gun against knocking him to the floor. Then he took a deep breath and turned to look at me. "Are you okay?"

All of a sudden I realize how much I was hurting. The cut on my arm wasn't deep but it went all the way down my bicep towards my wrist. Blood was dropping off my fingers onto the floor. I looked at Dean for a moment, my breath tagged, my eyes wide in shock. Then for once I didn't hesitate, I walked over to him and threw my arms around his back. He leaned into me, his arms embracing me.

"It's okay." He murmured softly. I tried to stop my trembling and buried my face in his chest. He hugged me tighter, "You're fine, and I'm here."

We stood there for a long time. I never wanted to let go. For the first time in a long time I remembered what it felt like to love someone. Ever since I had returned from hell, I had isolated myself, holding on to my promises and my need for revenge. And the one person I wanted revenge on the most was the only one who had been there for me. I pulled away and smiled at him. It's time to break my promise, I thought. Then I leaned in and kissed him. Electricity ran through me. This was exactly what I needed. This was right. He kissed me back and I closer my eyes. This wasn't just right it was perfect.

* * *

When Sam came back, he was surprised to find us sitting on the bed together, laughing. I smiled up at him as he walked in. "Hiya Sammy." I said giving him a devious look. I almost laughed out loud at the look of shock and confusion on his face. He opened his mouth as if to comment, but apparently decided against it.

"So" Dean said swinging his legs off the bed and walking to his brother. "Did you find anything?" I looked at Sam, trying to read him. He looked overconfident, and I could tell that he was stronger. I could smell the sharp scent of demon blood and I curled my lip in disgust. How could the smell be that strong? Unless…

"I don't just have a lead this time." Sam said, pulling something out of his pocket. It was a map and he laid it out on the table. There were marks all over it, and one city was circled. "There was another demon where Ruby and I went. We trapped him and interrogated him, drawing out some crucial information. And now we don't have information about Lilith, we know where she will be next. We can stop her now. Once and for all."

This wasn't going t turn out well. I could see that already. But Lilith…. I clenched my fists. That demon bitch had taken so much from me. she had tortured me, killed my siblings, killed my mother, then forced me into a deal. I had gotten my siblings back at a terrible price before being sentenced to hell. I had almost forgotten whom I was when I was down there, and now that I had come back, everything had changed. I didn't trust Ruby or her stupid leads, and I didn't trust Sam at this point. But the lure of stabbing a blade into her heart and listening to her scream as her life was sucked away… there was no way I could resist that.

Dean's short temper was about to make an appearance. He looked furious, and for a moment I thought for sure that he was going to punch Sam in the face. "Dean." I said softly, walking over to him and grabbing his hands. He looked at me, and his expression softened. "we can do this, work with them jut this once. All we need to do is finish what we started. Then, we can wok on us. Does that sound like a good de-plan?" I stuttered over that last word, probably best not to bring up a deal around him.

I held breath as I waited for his response. Then he leaned down, still holding my hands and kissed me. "Okay Sam." He said letting go of my hands and turning to face his brother. "We're in."


	14. Silver

_**Here it is guys! The final chapter! A sequel will be in place if I get enough reviews, I have some ideas but I really want some feedback before I start another story. Anyway, I'm glad you guys kept us with this story, and I hope you love the ending (or hate it, really if you read the whole thing that means a lot to me!) But enjoy the final chapter, please review, and there may be a sequel in the future! (and by maybe, I mean there most definitely will be, just don't know when).**_

* * *

"Damn it!" Sam yelled, turning in a frustrated circle. I clenched my fists by my side, sharing Sam's anger. First ruby had brought news of Lilith's whereabouts. I had agreed to go with them to investigate. Then Cas had appeared and told me that Sophiel was dead. I couldn't pretend to be super close to her; usually when we talked I was arguing with her, but it was still hard to lose a friend like that. It was just my luck that I would lose my guardian angel. Or whatever she was. Then of course things had to get worse. Cas and his friend had taken Dean away, to go torture Alastair.

I glared at him, still furious for what he had done to me. It hadn't been his secret to share. But now, we had to work together. I wasn't going to just stand by and let Dean turn back into the monster he used to be. My Dean, the man that I loved was no longer a monster. We had been dating for near three weeks now, and I just kept falling more in love with him. And I knew he loved me, not just because he told me. I could see it in his eyes, the way he smiled at me, the way he held my hand, and especially the way he would defend me against his brother. There was no way I was going to let him slide back into that cruel animal I knew in hell. An angel, I don't care if it was Cas, wasn't going to re-awaken that.

Sam grabbed his phone and dialed Ruby's number. I hadn't talked to Ruby since she had told Lilith about me. I had seen her, but refused to talk to her. She didn't deserve it. But now, I had to admit it, we did need her. I couldn't track down the angels. But maybe she could. She was our best shot.

It seemed to take forever before she arrived. I kept pacing back and forth, anxious to be on our way. I had to save him. What if Alistair broke free? He would kill Dean, and send him straight back to hell. Finally there was a knock on the door. I stopped pacing and turned, sharply, narrowing my eyes at the door. Sam let her in, and she ducked past him, her face full of disgust. "I can still smell them." she grumbled under her breath, "Seriously Sam, I'm not exactly dying to tangle with angels again."

I cleared my throat and stepped forward, "You don't have to. We just need to find where Dean is. You don't have to come, in fact I would prefer it if you didn't come." I glared at Sam as I said that, giving a silent warning. _Don't you dare let her come. _

Like normal, she ignored me. Instead of answering me, she turned to Sam. "Sam I know your brother is important. I get it. But if we don't go now, we lose the chance at stopping Lilith. I found her. I know exactly where she is. We can't let an opportunity like this slip away." Ruby said, exasperated. I hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between the two of them. I knew what the solution was, and my heart sank at the idea.

"He's not strong enough." Sam said, and I felt my blood boil. Dean was plenty strong. He had survived so much, and I trusted him with my life. I knew he would be able to do this, to get the answers he needed. But I didn't, I couldn't let him do it. I stared at Sam, shocked. How could he not understand how strong Dean was? I just couldn't believe that he was putting his brother down like this. I bit my lip, hard, to stop myself from going off on him.

"And you are?" Ruby asked.

"I will be." Sam replied. I took a deep breath. This had just gone from bad to worse. I knew Sam wasn't foolish enough to drink demon blood in front of me, but I also knew that he needed it.

That was the difference between us. I was born with the darkness inside me. I had been born a skinwalker, essentially born a monster. But I had embraced it, learned to control it, and used it for good. Sam didn't understand what he was getting into. I had no choice with my destiny, but Sam did. He was choosing to be a monster, choosing to drink that blood. He embraced the powers in all the wrong ways, for all the wrong reasons. But for once, he had his head in the right place. Maybe he could pull it off without the demon blood, but why risk it? Why not be certain of success?

I waited for Ruby's response. "Okay Sam, but if you go to your brother's aid, who's going after Lilith?" she said. She spoke to Sam, but her gaze rested on me.

"I'll go." I said, stepping between the two of them, "Sam, get your brother. I'll go with Ruby and find Lilith. You're more help to Dean than I am right now." For a moment there was silence, and the two of them exchanged a glance. I waited patiently, ignoring my doubts. If I was right, and Lilith and Ruby were working together, I was walking straight to my death. But I had to give Sam this chance to find, and save, his brother. Right now, that was more important than my own life.

Ruby looked at me for a long time, her gaze unreadable, "Are you sure?" she asked, casting a bewildered glance over at Sam. I just nodded. "Alright fine, I'll meet you there." She quickly out a pen and a pad of paper, and then scribbled an address. She handed it to me, concern in her eyes. "Be careful, I'll join you as soon as possible.

She was purposefully trying to get rid of me, but I didn't argue. I just looked at Sam, "Do what you have to. Save him." I said, before sweeping out of the room. For once, I didn't care what Sam was about to do. I had an idea, but I didn't mind. In fact, I was hoping he would take some of Ruby's blood. The stronger he was, the better. Just this once, the ends definitely justified the means.

* * *

I pulled up to the museum, checking the address to make sure I was at the right place. I wondered what Lilith could possibly want from a children's museum. It didn't really make sense to me, but I didn't care why. I didn't try to understand demons. All I cared about was stopping them. Shoving open the door, I leapt out and popped the trunk, trying to decide what to bring. I couldn't bring a lot with me, just in case I was forced to flee. But I definitely should bring my knife. I grabbed a couple throwing knives as well, and lined them up inside my jacket. I considered grabbing one of my Smith &amp; Wesson guns, but it wouldn't do me any good. Or maybe I could use my colt that was loaded with silver bullets, or my Jericho. But none of those would work against Lilith, they were just a comfort to have with me. I decided against it and instead grabbed a canister of holy water. I had my silver fighting knife, five throwing knives, and a canister of water against arguably the most powerful demon in existence. What could possibly go wrong?

I walked quietly through the museum, avoiding the single guard that was sitting behind the desk. The dim moonlight shining through the window cast shadows on the polished floor. The children's museum was huge, and I had no idea how I was going to find her. I slunk through the shadows as a wolf, heading towards one of the large exhibit rooms. It wasn't a normal museum. The large building housed many interactive exhibits. It looked like a lot of fun to be honest, and part of me wanted to come back when it was open to check it out.

The first room that I slide in was the space room. I walked through it, glad that it was completely dark inside. I took a deep breathe in, relying on my senses. Unfortunately, there was no sign, or scent, that a demon had been in this room. I relaxed and changed back into my human form. Then, I kept prowling along, staying on two legs for now. I needed my hands available to draw my knife. I wanted to pull out my phone and call Ruby, ask her when she was going to be here. The last time I had gone after Lilith, well it hadn't gone over so well. At least this time I wouldn't have my family to worry about.

Maybe it was best that Ruby wasn't here. Could I really trust her to help me? My instincts were screaming at me to run, to get out of here and wait until I had reliable backup. My heart was telling me something else. I walked through an IMAX theatre and farther into the museum, still looking for any signs of Lilith. I remembered Dean's story of how he had been dragged to hell. How Lilith had been there, and tricked both Sam and Dean. Then she had let in the hound to kill him and drag him away. I would destroy her for that. She had sent both me, and Dean, to Alistair. I pushed away my instincts. For once, I was going to listen to my heart and do whatever it took to stop the demon.

There was a children's indoor playground set up on the next area of the museum, with three large doors, two on the right and one on the left. I hesitated, trying to decide which room to go in. The first one, on the left, had computers and gadgets running along the wall. The room was very open, and there was no way she could be in there. The second room looked more promising. If you can call hunting a demon promising.

I went into the room, reading the words "Adventure" painted on the door. It was a huge area, and I had to push away my instincts that kept telling me to run. My other thought was to explore and have fun, because it was amazing. The large room was like an indoor jungle. It looked like the ruins of an ancient temple that had been left to rot in the midst of a wild jungle. It was dark, foreboding, and elusive. In other words, it was my favorite kind of place. Tiki heads were scattered around, and large fake stones rose from every corner. The whole area was very authentic and decorated with such skill that I could almost imagine I had stepped into another world. I let my guard down and focused on exploring. There were secret caves and passages, and even some slides for the children molded into the exhibit. I smiled, letting my worries vanish. I had been transported into another place, another time, a world of mystery and exploration. Up ahead there was a cargo net that led up to a second level of the room. I climbed it eagerly, excited to see what lay at the top.

And there she was, standing right in front of me.

My heart sank, the adventure forgotten. I was transported back to that night in the graveyard. Had it really only been a few years ago? Time was different when you had been to hell…. The sound of Lilith pulling out a weapon, a long, skinny scimitar pulled me back into reality. "Interesting choice." I mumbled, looking down at my small knife. This was going to be fun. She lunged at me, and I caught her first blow on the edge of my knife. Twisting, I ducked under her blade, getting in close. She swung down and I hit the floor, rolling to her side and slashing behind her. The demon ducked and turned, her free hand reaching towards my knife. I grabbed her wrist with my right hand, and the fight took a new turn. Now we were both fighting with both our hands. She slashed wildly at my arms and my legs; I was stabbing at her head and her heart. I didn't understand what she was playing at. Why try to disarm me? Why wasn't she going for the kill?

She finally got the upper hand. Her longer blade skimmed over my wrist, making a very shallow cut. The brief moment I took to examine the wound was enough for her to make a move. She kicked me, sending me backwards into a wall. I scrambled to my feet, but before I could attack again, Lilith flicked her hand. My knife was yanked out of my grasp and flung across the floor. I lost sight of it in the darkness. "It's over Tala." She said, striding towards me, her blade pointed at my throat. "Once again, I have come out on top."

She was right. I couldn't beat her, and I would probably never be able to. So I did the only thing I could do. First I acted as weak as I could, letting my eyes widen in mock horror as she approached. "Please, no." I whispered as she stopped right above me. I could see her smirk and I knew she wouldn't be expecting this. I swiped my left foot into the back of her knees. Just as I had hoped, she was unprepared and the force caused her to crumble to the ground. Then I turned and ran, all of my courage abandoned. I just had to get away from her. I had to run away from those white eyes. If only Dean was with me now, I needed his support. I whipped around a corner, trying to find a way out of the room. The "adventure room" was purposefully set up in a way to get you lost and confused. I could imagine it was great fun during the day, playing in the makeshift island. But now, in the dark, with Lilith on my heels, it was just dark and foreboding. All the fun I had been having earlier left me, I had been a fool to come in here. I skidded to a halt in front of yet another large tiki-like sculpture. _Breathe. _I reminded myself. _Breathe and think. _

I inhaled deeply, taking in all the scents around me, searching for my own. If I could find my own trail, I could follow it back out. And that was exactly what I did. As soon as I caught the scent, I turned into a wolf, slinking along the ground. "Slow and steady, make no sound, stick to the shadows" those thoughts rushed through my head. I knew I was getting close. This was the first time, and I knew it would be the last, that I ever followed Ruby's lead. The bitch hadn't even showed up. She probably just sent me there thinking it would solve all her problems. I would kill Lilith, or she would kill me, and all Ruby had to do was sit on the sidelines and wait to see who came out on top.

I breathed a small sigh of relief when I entered the large IMAX theatre. This had been attached to the space room that I entered first. I broke into a run, darting between the seats towards the open door. Through the exhibit, past the guard, get in the car, and get out.

I skidded to a halt when I was a few yards from the door of the IMAX theatre. A woman stood in the doorway, and I was just about to turn and run the other way. Then I felt a large rush of relief run through me. It was Ruby. "She's here." I breathed out. I wanted to ask what had taken her so long, but I didn't care. I just wanted it to be over. "She's here." I repeated.

She smiled, "I know." She flicked a switch and one of the shows began on the large screen. I felt a sense of foreboding as the lights from the screen began to ripple over the ground, going from light to dark. The theatre was cast in many colors, reds and blues, yellows and greens. The loud sound coming from the show was making my ears ring and messing with my senses. Everything was distorted, the light that was constantly changing and the booming speakers made the room larger, and I was having trouble keeping focused. My eyes hurt from the sudden flashes and my head started pounding; I was incapacitated. How was I going to hear Lilith approaching now? Why had she turned it on? She was on my side, right? I turned from the screen back to the demon, and suddenly I realized the imposing way Ruby was standing. She was blocking the door and standing light on her feet. The shadows lay heavy where she stood, highlighting the darkness on her face. She took a step towards me and I stepped back, uncertain of what her plans were. Was she going to help me, or was she here to kill me?

"I need your help to take her down." I said uncertainly, "Ruby please, help me." She started to walk towards me, and then I saw her hand flash down to her side. "No!" I yelled in horror. But it was too late. She pulled out a gun and fired.

Pain exploded in my left shoulder and I went down hard. The pain was worse than anything I had ever felt. The bullet had ripped a ragged hole through my upper arm, and I clasped my hand over the wound, desperate to slow the bleeding. I knew something was wrong right away. I had been shot before. Every hunter has. But this time was different. I could feel the sharp, burning sensation that usually accompanied a shot. It resembled a burning hot knife being shoved under your skin and being twisted. But usually it was contained to the area that was shot. When I had been shot in the leg, a few years back before I went to hell, that horrible sensation had been contained to my thigh where the wound had been. Now, I could feel that burn spreading all over my body. The bullet had to be laced with some kind of poison, that was the only explanation.

I tried to gather my feet underneath me to stand, but they were too weak and shaky to support me. My shoulder screamed in agony when I tried to move and I pulled out my phone. I could call Sam, or someone; I had to get in contact with someone. Before I could type anything, I noticed that there was no service in the theatre. I almost laughed at that. Only me! I pulled out one of my small throwing knives; my silver knife was still lost in the adventure area.

I looked up to see where Ruby was and I was shocked to see her standing right above me. My head felt fuzzy, how long had I been lying here? I suddenly felt pressure on my wrist, keeping me from throwing the knife. "Just relax Tala." Ruby said in her silky purr, plucking the knife from my hand and tucking it in her pocket. "We just need to wait for Lilith, she'll be here soon. There's no use exerting yourself, we don't want to injure you anymore than this." She knelt down and looked at me, an inquisitive look on her face, "Who knew silver would drop you so fast?"

So that's what it was. A silver bullet. No wonder I could feel it like poison rushing through me. I looked at Ruby, maybe I could talk my way out of this. Doubtful. She was just as manipulative as I was. But I had to try. I had to do something. "Please, if you care for Sam, at all, help me now." I cried, cringing at my own voice and how pathetic it sounded, "I don't care what you do to me, just kill Lilith."

"Trust me, I do care for Sam. More than you know. And Sam will be the one to kill her." She gave me a look of pity and rested her hand on my shoulder. "Don't you understand? This is all part of the plan. You just got in our way. You weren't supposed to be here, you were never supposed to escape. But here you are, and I hoped that I wouldn't have to take these drastic measures. But we were forced to, especially once you and Dean got together. It's a dangerous combination, so we have to get you out of our way."

I turned my head at the sound of more footsteps, not bothering to respond to Ruby. Lilith was walking in and I saw her flick off the theatre presentation. I didn't even realize it had been playing until the theatre went dark once more. "Good job Ruby." She said smiling. Then she turned her attention to me. "Thanks for playing along old friend." She cooed.

"What are you waiting for?" I snapped, suddenly exasperated. I was so frustrated with these games. I didn't like being toyed with like a puppet. It was clear that I become nothing more than a pawn in the demons stupid plans and I was done with it. "Go on then, kill me, or torture me, but whatever you're going to do, GET ON WITH IT!"

The two demons exchanged a glance as I ungracefully propped myself up on my right side and sliding into a sitting position. I wasn't going to be able to stand up and confront them. I always tried to fight my way out, but I was no fool. It was clear that I was defeated. Unarmed and wounded I sat in front of two powerful creatures. There was just no use trying at this point.

"We have no need to kill you, or hurt you even." Lilith leaned down and pushed a syringe into my neck. It was a sedative; I knew that right away. I could feel my muscles grow heavy and thankfully o could also feel the pain dulling. Right before I slipped out of consciousness, I heard Lilith's voice, "Like I said, we just need you out of the way." And the world faded to black.

* * *

I felt despair settle over me, so heavy and strong I didn't know what to do. Then I felt the hatred rolling up. The feelings weren't my own, but I acted on them. Whirling I raised my knife, ready to march to my tied up enemy. But something was wrong. There wasn't space in front of me like there should be. Instead, I felt the space being filled by someone, or something. Then the force hit me full in the face and I went down hard. Before I could recover two more beatings came to my face, along with a kick in the side. I fell on the floor gasping for air and a rough hand grasped me and yanked me up. I was staring into darkness; no one was there, where was this coming from? These feelings, thoughts, emotions, they weren't mine so why was I feeling them?

The force hit me in the face again; it must have been a punch straight to my face. After the second throw, the hand on my shoulder let go and I fell back on the ground. Then the cold hand wrapped around my throat, the thumb digging into my windpipe. I gasped and choked as I felt myself lifted off the ground and slammed into something solid. A wall maybe? The cold pinch around my throat forced me up, until my feet were no longer on the ground. My legs twitched as I tried to struggle away, but to no avail. Just as suddenly as it began, the cold iron grip on my throat was lifted and I fell. Falling, falling, falling. I screamed in horror, when all of a sudden, everything faded away. The pain returned to my shoulder, but the emotions were gone, all gone except for my fear.

My eyes flickered open. It was pitch black, and it took them a moment to adjust to the darkness. Then I began to make out shapes. I was lying on a stone bench, staring up at the low ceiling. A water bottle lay on the ground next to me. I sat up and examined my shoulder. Someone had removed the bullet, and stitched up the hole. I flexed my shoulder and almost screamed at the shock that ran through me. For a moment, I thought of Dean. He must have saved me. But if he was the one to save me, why did he throw me on a stone bench to recover? Plus the stitches were clean and professional. Dean worked with dental floss and a sewing needle. Then there was that strange dream I had experienced. I couldn't help but feel that it was somehow related to Dean, and I knew he was in trouble. I needed him, but he probably needed me too, and I felt lost. Everything had become a blur after Ruby had shot me. Did Lilith appear, or had I been hallucinating? With a small gasp of pain, I swung my legs down on the ground and took in my surroundings.

It was a small cell, maybe 15X15 feet, no larger. There were no lights, but I could see a faint gleam coming from a far corner. There was probably a door over there, or a window, letting in daylight. How long had it been since I went to the museum? Days, or weeks? Maybe just one night… Frustrated, I rubbed my temples, hoping that I could jog my memory. All I knew was that this was Lilith's plan; she had put me in here. I grasped the bars, transferring my anger to a tight grip. "RUBY!" I yelled into the darkness, "LILITH!" No response. I kept screaming for them, for someone, over and over again, until the light started to fade from the small window. My shoulders slumped and my hands fell to my sides. I was defeated, wounded, and locked up like an animal in a cage. The irony of it. "Lilith." I whispered softly, stepping away from the bars and trying to keep away the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes, "Why have you brought me here?"


End file.
